The president’s decision to weigh in on the arrest of his Harvard law professor friend Henry Louis Gates Jr., who mouthed off to a Cambridge cop threw a grenade into his health care PR offensive and revived questions about his promises of a post-racial presidency. He tried to defuse matters with a Friday appearance in the White House briefing room, but like his predecessor, he found it impossible to say “I am sorry” or “I was wrong.”

It is not surprising that the cable TV news and the Sunday talk shows continued to chew over the story. Unfortunately for the president, the comment was harmful on multiple levels. We can count at least five ways in which the story is a loser for Obama.

First, it suggests he is an uninformed busy-body. With a paucity of facts and no evidence of racism, he chose to opine on a local matter which otherwise would never rise to the level of a presidential issue. As Steve Chapman wrote:

Barack Obama got to be president because he had qualities Americans were yearning for after the bitter tumult of the Bush years. He was calm, sober, fair-minded, and guided by facts rather than emotions. He didn’t jump to conclusions, he didn’t ignore inconvenient evidence and he didn’t blunder into messes. That was the guy we elected last year, and right now, a lot of people miss him.

Second, he sucked the oxygen out of the health care debate at the very moment Democrats were pleading for him to become more involved. On the front pages of major newspapers, on TV news, and on every talk radio show the number one topic was: did Obama mess up on the Gates affair?

Third, Obama indisputably fanned the flames of racism and rekindled animosity on both sides by assuming or making this all about race. Juan Williams, on Fox News Sunday, did the country an immense service by recounting what exactly occurred: “The president spoke without the facts. You can’t have a ‘teachable moment’ if it’s based on a lie.”As Williams explained, in this case, the neighbor called the police, Gates began to berate the officer (“Do you know who I am?”), trash-talking about the officer’s mother and pursuing him out of the house. The black and Hispanic officers confirmed Gates’ abusive behavior, and Sergeant Crowley took out the handcuffs and warned Gates before finally having to cuff him.

Williams asked, “Is this an instance of a poor black kid being beaten by the cops?” No. And in converting this into a tale of police misconduct (he acted “stupidly” Obama said) and racial injustice, Obama only re-enforced the country’s racial divide. Whites often think blacks scream racism at the drop of a hat; blacks think whites are out to get them. Good work, Mr. President.

Fourth, the underlying fault line in Obama’s presidency and his agenda is the growing sense that government is getting too big and is accumulating too much power. It is not just core Republicans who think government is doing too much, but an overwhelming number of independents who are irked by the Washington power grab. Obama, by meddling in a local matter and getting it all wrong, only fed the story line that he is out to boss us around, run our lives, and impose his left-wing perspective on every aspect of American life.

Fifth, Obama has fallen into the unfortunate habit of blaming others. He rails at the “Washington” chatter and doesn’t like the “24-hour news cycle.” His press secretary denies flubs rather than apologize. (What bow to the Saudi king? Nothing to see. Move along.) Once again Robert Gibbs was in full court accusation-mode, sniping at the media for making this story a bigger deal than it was. And again, even when in damage control mode, Obama couldn’t quite walk back his words. As Bill Kristol put it, “He is an arrogant man.” While he has a more sympathetic media than George W. Bush, it soon may sink in that this president is unwilling and unable to take the blame and say “I am sorry.”

The question remains whether all of this matters and how damaging it will be. Obama’s spinners declare it is all behind him. But others aren’t so sure. As Williams argued, his knee-jerk reaction to cry racism “hurt the country and it hurt him.” It was, to put it mildly, exactly what Obama didn’t need. A polarizing event — confirming the worst fears that he is arrogant, not at all post-racial, and prone to play last-and-loose with the facts — is not what he needed in the midst of the biggest political challenge of his young presidency. The stimulus is working, he is teaching us about race, and now he wants to run your health care. Not an attractive picture.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Middle-of-the-road and conservative whites now realize that Barack Obama has unresolved issues with them. He is out to stick it to them good and hard. Obama is merely a Harvard educated Al Sharpton. I have always realized that he is a race hustler. Others now have come to the same conclusion. The odds are that Obama will never again see his poll numbers go over 50%. He will remain a marginalized figure until he leaves the White House.

President Obama is an intellectually lazy man. This latest incident reveals Obama to be an individual who is indifferent about studying facts before shooting his mouth off. This is also probably not the exception—but the normal way of how he approaches the issues of the day. Obama is shallow and poorly read. He probably couldn’t read a serious book if his life depended on it. The intellectual tools simply do not exist. A Harvard University soft science credential can be something of a joke. It is often not worthy of respect. Obama likely guilt tripped his professors to eventually get his degree. He is, however, not mentally challenged. We can take it for granted that Obama possesses a high I.Q. He just doesn’t want to put in the effort. Guilt tripped white liberals never pushed him to so in the past. Why start now?

Good job with the “pulling the pin” analogy. You can only do that so many times before you start fragging yourself. Obama pulled the pin on this one and then dropped it in his own lap. He alone stands damaged, and the country survived the immediate effects. It was illuminating to see into the dark, small character that is Obama.

Nothing should be surprising about any of this. This was all on display during the presidential campaign, yet nearly every day I still find myself exclaiming “My gawd, this Obama is such a small and petty man!”.

What is surprising and upsetting to me is the collective judgment of the American people. The combination of apathy, complacency, delusion, and willful ignorance that came together and enable this small and unqualified individual to become president has shaken my faith in the American people to it’s core.

America went stupid in November, 2008. The question now is, “Are we able to right this ship, or is it going down?”.

Anything that throws the “health reform bill” in jeopardy to me is good news and in this case it is great news. Also I hope his policies fail because none of them are good for this country. Let’s just hope now that his presidency is not a lame duck presidency but a dead duck presidency.

If he is worried about a 24/7 news cycle then he should do himself and the country a favor and stay off television with all his stupid “news conferences” I was tired enough of him before he got elected and now I refuse to watch television or read newspapers and periodicals I have had quite my fill of this guy.

The sad truth about all of this is that Obama’s initial criticism of Cambridge police officers was not, as he would now have us believe, an inadvertent insult. It was not simply a “poor choice of words” — a mere failure to properly “calibrate” his comments.

It was deliberate, a calculation. And it was a darn poor one. This self-proclaimed “post-racial” president is so far anything but. Too often, he retreats in the politics of color. In trouble over his ambitious agenda (and with some of his black constituents), he seeks to distract — by tapping into cultural/racial sensitivities.

Obama and his cohorts think themselves “the best and the brightest.” BuI say, when they act this way, it’s more a case of “stupid is as stupid does.” http://emmeffemm.com/id103.html

Moreover, if and when Obama wants to have a serious discussion about race, many Americans are ready to talk. But we insist on an HONEST conversation.

During the campaign, kids in an inner-city school were asked what the results of an Obama presidency would be. In addition to legalizing marijuana and giving everybody a lot of money, they also said, “He’s gonna get even with white people”.

The reason this matters is Obama revived fears about himself that had been largely put to rest. What he said Wednesday night did not at all sound like the highly scripted,scrubbed clean teleprompted comments of a post-racial president, it sounded like something Jeremiah Wright would say. Friday’s comments were somewhat better but he still did not apologize.

Much was made in the Clinton administration about the Friends of Bill (FOBs) and I guess we now see what benefits will come to Friends of Obama (FOOs). Get yourself arrested for mouthing of,no problem, if you are my friend I will personally comment on it. However if you are the lady in the audience asking about a pacemaker for your 100 year old Mom, well, as a non-FOO, “take a pain pill”.

To many of us who did not vote for Obama, the “just words” from Wednesday night do not surprise, they confirm. Our President is his own racial “house divided” and I hope he works out his issues fairly soon, for all our sakes. If not, there will be other revealing moments.

When he said the wrong thing to Joe the plumber, he somehow managed to blame Joe the plumber for it. This time, people are actually holding him accountable instead of demonizing the cop. That’s a pretty big change in attitude. It’s kind of encouraging.

As the president says, “words matter.” His original comment (which we now know was rehearsed)saying the Cambridge Police Dept. acted stupidly is as concise as it is inaccurate, obnoxious, arrogant and damaging.
His non apology saying his words were improperly “calibrated” means that he erred perhaps on the degree but not the substance of what he said. The fact that Gates continues to talk about racial profiling unchallenged, further reinforces this perception of his meaning.
his having a “teachable moment” (Robert Gibbs) over a beer at the White House comes accross to me as amazingly arrogant. I am not a fan to begin with but the sheer liberal superior arrogance is impactfull to say the least. Even when he is proven to be wrong he continues to dissemble with superior abandon as though the public is too stupid to comprehend. Dishonesty of Clinton without the charm and fun.

The dumbing down of America is manifested in an electorate who does not get informed. People who vote for a guy because he’s black and who attach more importance to American Idol than American foreign policy. That’s the dumbing down, and all those dumbed-down dunces voted Obama.

Obama was born a Muslim, he made his way up through Chicago politics with the support of terrorists, Palestinians, Islamists and crooks. Obama made his way up through Chicago society with the support of an anti-Semite, pro-HAMAS, racist, conspiracy-mongering lunatic pastor Obama called his “mentor” in an anti-white racist “church”.

The dumbed-down American voters ignored all of that because they wanted to be “post-racial” and vote for a black guy, to hell with qualifications!

On Wednesday night, Obama answered a question (the only answer with any substance) about the arrest of a professor in Cambridge, MA saying “…one thing is for sure, the Cambridge police acted stupidly” and Obama even admitted not knowing the facts.

Why?

Because the professor was BLACK and the arresting officer was white. Obama’s reflexive response was that the (white) cops were racist. Well, guess what. For anybody with half a brain, it showed that Obama is very much a President and protector of black America more than he is of white America. In short, the question was answered exactly as a South Chicago “community organizer” would.

That makes Obama a racist.

And by the way, it turns out the arresting officer has an exemplary clean record and he lectures other police about, of all things…………………….. RACIAL PROFILING!

Isolated us from the world community? France, Italy, Germany, Czech, Israel all elected pro-Bush conservative governments. All those leaders think Obama is an incompetent and today we are not loved any more than we were before Obama.

The difference is that we are less feared and less respected – especially by Obama’s second favorite (after blacks) constituency, Muslims.

The dumbed-down don’t see the national security, financial, and societal dangers looming because of Obama.

…because there’s no such thing as police profiling and a guy driving down the road has as much chance being pulled over if he’s white than if he’s black, and Gates had no business being upset over being treated like a felon in his own house, and the cops should not have just walked away from the whole thing, because police NEVER make mistakes… and besides! You can’t believe a WORD “those people” say. Right?

God, I love watching racists defend their racism as if it were logical.

What I really, really want to know is what brand of beer will they be sloshing around when the three combatants (Obama, Gates, Crowley) get together at the drink-fest at the White House. I’m putting my money on beer brewed in Kenya for Obama and Gates and beer brewed in England for the white trash.
Do you think arugula will severed? Maybe Obama will fly in that pizza chef? Or maybe they’ll do a spin around New York to settle in the beer?

One thing for sure, Obama will step up to a mike at some point and say, “Oh, by the way, did you notice Gates and I don’t look like the other beer guzzlers that have got drunk in the White House?”

You guys ever heard of the expression, “beating a dead horse”? They are all meeting for beers and a chat — it’s over, rover. Also, have you guys ever heard of the word “irony”? That’s when someone, for example, not knowing all the facts, accuses and condemns someone else of shooting off his mouth without, ummm, well, knowing all the facts….

Obama has nothing to apologize for here. Considering the facts, his comments were accurate. Arresting Gates was stupid, and it’s not about race. It’s about respecting the rights of American citizens to enjoy the protection of the Constitution.

The distraction from Health Care is not necessarily harmful, as that agenda item is still moving forward, now with reduced scrutiny.

There is very little surprise in any of this. “Deep Brain Diarist” is noodling around the facts to give us a peek into what platform makes Obama tick. Good job! Release the tapes!!! There is a structural deficit here that allows someone to take this much power in our Republic and neither party cares about the people. Each politician is just trying to make it through the next election so they can have their hands in the money and pass it out to their supporters, their friends, and help their particular ‘acorn’s grow. In this time of massive databases holding everything about each of us, we still can’t see where our government is spending our money. 1099 for All!

“The stimulus is working, he is teaching us about race, and now he wants to run your health care. Not an attractive picture.”

Three strike
and you’re out. Obama poll numbers are dropping like a stone, so his flacks can no longer hide behind his popularity.

The massive pork bill called a stimulus, a hyper-racist remark in prime time, and a budget busting power grab that threatens health care should raise up protesters with pitchforks. Unfortunately for Obama, they are not mad at corporations or doctors — they are mad at HIM !

“God, I love watching racists defend their racism as if it were logical.”

What I love is how lefties continue to cling to using accusations of racism a sort of universal force field against anything that challenges their prejudices and caricatures.

But people like ‘Deep Brain Diarist’ do us a service in flinging the racism accusation around in that they reveal themselves as the myopic simpletons that they are. They elect to not be taken seriously, sparing us the waste of our time with them.

“and Gates had no business being upset over being treated like a felon in his own house,”

Gates certainly had no business pitching a hissy-fit because the cop was *doing his job* in asking for ID. But, no, Gates’ first words were “It’s because I’m a black man in America.” So who intruded race into this matter?

“the cops should not have just walked away from the whole thing”– Which they did. Had Gates simply stayed in his house and not followed the cop outside, raining abuse on him, it would have been over. The cops warned him three times, even displaying the cuffs as they gave him one last opportunity to just STFU, and Gates continued to scream and holler. He has nobody to blame but himself. Now, is “Acting Like A Dick In Public” an arrestable offense? Sometimes. Almost always if it’s a cop you’re acting like a dick towards.

The only racial component in this business was created by Gates, whose Klan-o-meter is permanently turned up to 11. But then that’s his profession.

#18 – Perry. Obama cannot be a racist. I’ll tell you why and how I learned it. My nephew, a fanatic supporter of Obama, said his mother refused to vote for him just because he was black and was, therefore, a racist. A little later in our debate, I said that some native Americans were the most racist people I know – both in terms of hating white people and in believeing that, just because they were Indian, they were special. He said minorities couldn’t be racists because they have no power! So, says I, your mother couldn’t possibly be a racist then, right? He had no reply. I have yet to ask him if now that a blackman has his finger on the nuclear button could he qualify as a racist. You think?

Obama’s poll numbers have slipped from a +30 in February to a -11 as of yesterday according to Rasmussen. That’s quite an accomplishment in only six months. If Obama had done absolutely nothing since election day, the economy would be in better shape than it is now and he would still retain the goodwill of the American people. High self-esteem combined with low achievement is a dangerous combination. And why not weigh in on the Gates incident before you know the facts? If you are always right, why let facts get in the way? The man’s hubris knows no bounds.

Please, tell me that the Sgt. isn’t “stupid” enough to meet with Obama, let alone drink beer with him! If there is to be a meeting, it should be on Crowley’s home turf, not Obama’s. I’d like to see him crawl.

If people put half as much energy into mentoring and helping inner city children as they did in crying racism and blaming white people for their problems I believe life would be much happier for them. They are stuck and have no one to blame anymore but themselves. America has had enough.

Obama has nothing to apologize for here. Considering the facts, his comments were accurate.

Except Obama has already quasi-apologized, and admitted he should not have jumped into this issue without knowing all the facts.

Geez. You guys really need to stop with the continuous Obama fellatio. He screwed up, and the polling reflects it. Hell, 97% of blacks approve of Obama overall, yet 30% of blacks believe he was wrong in this matter.

But hey — you go right ahead and ignore the consequences of these Obama mistakes. You go right ahead, and see what happens in 2010 and 2012 ….

The silence on this issue from our leftist friends was deafening and I was wondering when they would work up some B.S. excuse for their dear leader. I see we finally have it. The old Clinton “this is a distraction from real issues” coupled with the insipid and baseless “you are a racist and should shut up” attack.

Hopefully this will be a learning moment for those that love this country but were mislead into voting for these left-wing extremists.

And the idea that this “distraction” makes Obama more likely to pass his crypto-Marxist healthcare power grab is just silly. This event trashed alot of credibility he may have had with more moderate Democrats who will not feel so intimidated when the Emanual thug machine comes a-calling.

He tried to defuse matters with a Friday appearance in the White House briefing room, but like his predecessor, he found it impossible to say “I am sorry” or “I was wrong.”
Recall his claim that inflating tires would save the energy equivalent of increased domestic drilling, Alaska and lower 48, offshore and onshore? When he was called on his not knowing the facts, he kept defending himself and refused to acknowledge that he was wrong.

First, it suggests he is an uninformed busy-body. With a paucity of fact…he chose to opine on a … matter …
Such as his inflating tires claim. When it comes to energy matters Obama doesn’t know a Joule from a jewel.

Fifth, Obama has fallen into the unfortunate habit of blaming others.
This was in evidence during the election campaign last year. Recall how he changed his mind on campaign financing. Instead of saying that he changed his mind because he had accumulated a lot of funds, he blamed the Republicans for his changing his mind.

President Obama, in his obsessive arrogance, revealed himself to be a racist demagogue with the planted question; he indeed set off a grenade that blew up in his face. While he was candidate Obama, the press gave him a pass; the MSM is still trying to give a pass. But President Obama’s own words are haunting him. Yet he wonders what is the big deal? This man-child is incredulous. Sure enough, this will become another distraction as William Ayers & Reverend Wright to him. The difference is he got pulled into his own racist trap given he ran on being post-racial. President Obama has revealed himself to be nothing more than a better educated Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson, race husters all. I call them race vultures as they look to exploit racism for their own personal ends.

Anything to take your focus off what Washington is ramming through and what we will have to live with!!

Your eyes should be on health care…who cares if a little piss ant like Gates has a hissy fit? Part of the “FOO” crowd..We know Obama is a racist, that’s established, now watch what they are doing to your future!!!

Washington is marching on reveling in your attention being drawm away!!!

I sincerely wish things had turned out differently with Obama, but they didn’t now we have to deal with it. So pay attention!!!

those kids in the inner-city schools were right “he’s gonna get even with white people”..when speaking he now involves the Latino..but they are an after thought, thrown in for effect of not wanting to just say blacks..

Look, I know that african american men are disproportionatly arrested and prosecuted in this country. I belive the drug war should be reexamined because I believe that a) no one should be told what they can put in their bodies; b) it hasn’t worked; and 3) in fact, it has made the police more paramilitary, dealers more violent, eroded civil liberties and made the relationship between police and civilians more confrontational. I am even willing to believe that Gates’s neighbor may be racist, although I would hope she would recognize her neighbor well enough to be able to tell it was Gates. That being said, Gates’s reaction should have been to provide his ID. If he wanted to make a political point about how racist it was that he was being asked to provide an ID, then he should have taken a page out of King’s and Ghandi’s book – politely refuse to provide id, not resist while being arrested, and quietly go to the police station. Anger escalates any situation. If I acted that way in my house, I would put the odds of my being arrested fairly high.

Remember the ridicule George Bush got for his mangled syntax? He said things like “We have to make the pie higher” and “I know how hard it is to put food on your family.” No wonder he was misunderestimated.

Yet Bush, for all his hashed metaphors and disjointed sentences, didn’t sound malevolent or condescending. Obama does. When he was first asked about Gates’s arrest, he said the police had acted “stupidly” and called it a case of racial profiling. When the public reacted against his prejudiced remarks, he tried to cure his condescension with more condescension. He or his press secy, I’m not sure which, said he wanted Gates’s arrest to provide “a teachable moment.” That implies he feels in a position to teach somebody something, but who and what? To teach Prof. Gates not to go on a racist rant against police investigating a B&E call? To each policemen not to arrest Harvard professors who go on racist rants? To teach the rest of the country that they should rid themselves of the bigotry Obama imputes to them? And, even if Obama does feel that other people need him to teach them anything, is that what he was elected to do?

There is one clear lesson from all of this, though. The White House staffers must never, ever let Obama say anything which didn’t come off a teleprompter.

..Stage 8: vivo retreats into his smug little world thinking his golden boy will be o.k. while a self-obsessed and narcissistic Obama continues his stumbing and bumbling, ruining countless others’ lives and fortunes.

RE #24/David S: [...] Obama has nothing to apologize for here. Considering the facts, his comments were accurate. [...] The distraction from Health Care is not necessarily harmful, as that agenda item is still moving forward, now with reduced scrutiny. [...]

… necessarily harmful – David, your, and other Soetorotrolls emergency presence on this (and other) thread(s) shows that there is a concerted effort at damage control in the WH.

It’s kind of like discovering that the nuclear explosion just over the horizon is actually bigger than one could have known….and those mushroom clouds just keep roiling up and rolling out….and rolling out….and rolling out….

…and Baghdad Bob stands at the gate saying, “What cloud? You liar! What cloud? There’s nothing to see here. There is no cloud anywhere in the United States today. Not one.”

It would be a lot funnier if it wasn’t the context for national destruction.

Gates became abusive because he felt he could get
away with it. If he was back in China he would
never try to pull that crap. The behavior
of brats is dictated by the permissivness
of their surroundings. Obama will blowup
the same way if left unguarded.

#24-David S Peace-In a similar circumstance
I kept my cool showed the police some ID
and they left peacefully. If I was Black
I guess I could have screamed racism.
And no one has the right to verbally
assault someone who is doing the job they
are supposed to do-in this case protecting
private property. Luckily for Obama he
still has knee jerk liberal apologists like
you onside. If Obama walked by and stepped
on my foot you’d say it wasn’t his fault
but mine for having my foot there.

48. Nora wrote:
I am even willing to believe that Gates’s neighbor may be racist, although I would hope she would recognize her neighbor well enough to be able to tell it was Gates.

Peter writes: Showing that you, like the POTUS, makes ill-informed statements based on little or no facts.

Fact 1 – The so-called neighbor did not LIVE in the neighborhood, she worked there. That has been known since day 1. Do you know EVERYONE by site who lives in the area where YOU work?

Fact 2 – It is now coming out, and backed up by the recorded 911 call, that your so-called racist neighbor did NOT report two black men breaking into a house. She reported two men breaking into a house, their faces unseen since their backs were to her. No race is mentioned in the 911 recording and even if she DID know Gates by sight, she didn’t see his face on this occasion to know who he was. All she saw was two men breaking into a house that had recently been broken into before in a neighborhood that has seen a rash of recent mid-day break-ins.

“Fourth, the underlying fault line in Obama’s presidency and his agenda is the growing sense that government is getting too big and is accumulating too much power.”

Yes, but let cops arrest me for any reason they see fit. That’s just a dandy way of accumulating power. I noted elsewhere that over the weekend this morphed out of control of either Obama or you right-wing idiots. This has turned into a conversation about abuse of power, and you idiots have position yourselves as the knight-stick fellating lap-poodles of that power. Despite the initial turn off of the race issue for most white folks, Crowley’s actions really do rankle people. Almost everyone has had an incident where an insecure cop has rattled his cuffs or his badge at them to make himself feel superior. The animosity towards police who do this surges just below the surface of almost any conversation people have about police. You’re really going the wrong way on this.

DavidS, DBD and A.S.: Are you guys serious? Do you really believe what you write? Come on, really?? Or are you paid to write what you do?

If you do believe in what you write, then how are you going to get along in society and work, which is still mostly owned and directed by white Americans?

Even if you work for Kos or HuffPo, it is still owned by a white person so your racist tendencies toward white America should preclude you from working with them, right? How do you reconcile that quandry?

You guys really do go over the top with your defense of leftist ideology and the promotion of things leftist. It makes me wonder about your motivations.

As for the POTUS acting stupidly in his rush to judgment on Gatesgate, the only operative question is the extent to which he has and will similarly rush to judgment on matters more significant to the future of the country & the survival of the Constitution.

Obama has called the 1st 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights, a litany of negative rights, “negative” (I guess) in the sense that they largely constitute a bar on how Congress may legislatively restrict Americans.

From my read, Barack Obama is chomping at the bit to find ways for the federal government to legislatively restrict Americans, that damn Bill of Rights be damned.

As for the pompous professor with the “do you know who I am and what’s your name & badge #?” attitude and “I’ll be calling my buddy, the chief of police…” posture, the only operative question is whether he is a full blown race pimp or, simply, in the words of Mark Steyn, a blowhard grievance monger.

#38 Tomp: I suspect Gates’ home will be a police-free zone for quite a while.
Attention criminals: you likely won’t be bothered by the cops at Gates’ home, so help yourself to anything there.
One of the funniest moments of Obama’s campaign was when FNC showed up at Bill Ayers’ home to ask questions and Ayers called the police. A man whose life has been dedicated to killing police calls them when confronted by a reporter. Hilarious indeed!
Hilarity will ensue once again when someone actually does try to break in to Gates’ home. Wouldn’t you love to be one taking that 911 call? Here’s how I see it going:

CALLER GATES: Someone’s trying to break into my house!
911 OPERATOR: May I have your address, sir?
CALLER GATES: No you may not! Do you know who I am?
911 OPERATOR: Sir, your number has been flagged and indicates that you recently refused to cooperate with an officer who was called to your house. This number is for emergencies only, so unless you have an emergency, please get off the line.
CALLER GATES: What do you think I’m trying to do, lady, order a pizza?
911 OPERATOR: Have a good day, sir. Good-bye.

#49 Jack Olson: Spot on. For all Bush’s malapropisms & solecisms, Obama makes him look like a genius w/o the condescension.
Memo to White House staff: NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, let the President speak w/o the teleprompter.

One thing is certain, two years down the road, this story will come up again. And plenty people are already taking notes, for example a certain Mrs Palin.

For sure Obama has made a political mistake; regardless of how he calibrate his remarks and recalibrate the counter remarks.

To be confirmed by the tapes, if ever released, the supporting witnesses show that Gates has pulled up the racism card too quickly. His other mistake, to be confirmed, is to loose temper and insult an officer a few steps from his door, and refuse to calm down after second warning.

Disorderly conduct is a questionnable charge, but Crowley can not be accussed of wrongdoings for it. This charge can be issued by his own discretion/judgement. It’s one of the police “tools” to maintain authority / order; and it is common to just drop the charge right after; once the tumultuous event has already passed. Regardless of what he has in mind, wether he’s racist or not, he played the game correctly; no racist words/comments involved – again, to be confirmed by the tape.

In any case, Obama’s mistake doesn’t need a tape to be confirmed; he is already the loosing party in this case.

It seems to me that everyone has missed the crux of this disgrace. Obama is a man with friends — in politics they are sometimes called cronies — and they are highly privileged folks. You don’t mess with them. They can do no wrong.

Yet Obama’s buddies do seem to be pretty sloppy characters, don’t they? It’s a collection including an unconvicted but admitted felon, a nutcase preacher, and a race-warrior academic.

I have been trying to recall the last time a president used his pulpit to whine about how one of his pals was badly treated in what was, honestly now, a minor incident. I recall Billy Sol Estes, Sherman Adams, Bert Lance and a few other cronies, but I can remember no introduction to any of those bottom-feeders that matches Obama’s telling the world about how his buddy was stupidly arrested for throwing a hissy-fit. Amazing, what the presidency has become. “Clannish, like the Mafia” comes to mind.

Maybe it’s the whiff of Chicago-style politics that I detect, but whatever it is, it reeks. What we see here is cronyism, Folks. Accordingly I predict we’ll eventually be treated to a barn-burner of a scandal, with old-time graft and influence peddling and skimming and lots of cockroaches scuttling for the woodwork when the lights come on. Blogo was small beer. Raucous times are coming!

The President is right in not apologizing. He already made it clear that it was a poor choice of words. That’s all you need to do. As President you have to be careful not to look weak, and you can’t bow to pressure under any circumstances. You do what ever you want as President and let the chips fall where they may, but you never, ever apologize for anything.

Our president seems quite nostalgic of last year’s campaign. At that time, the magic combination of eloquence, youth and skin color correctness was enough to keep cash and acclaim coming his way in unprecedented abundance.

This was also the time when the messianic fervor pushed into dinosaur-like irrelevance plain old measurable accomplishments such as, you know, executive track record, budget handling, payroll responsibility, and other sundry pedestrian preoccupations…

The press and other elitist cohorts were enjoying their MENSA moment, congratulating each other for the stratospheric potential of their superior understanding of the world, all the while making sure that nobody would be so coarse and brutal as to bring up the topic of a track record of competence.

Now, impressive potential is no longer enough, and some proportionally impressive accomplishment would be quite nice if there was any to exhibit. But there is something about the “spectacular accomplishment” of signing huge bills passed without time for reading and debating that no surplus of high expectations can possibly overcome, particulalrly after having not seen even the tiniest fraction of the loudly trumpreted transparency standard we were to expect.

Obama is actually performing a public service, by Oh-so-generously sharing with us a teachable-moment-from-the-school-of-hard-knocks, at our expense, unfortunately. If after that you cannot see the folly of the ultra-left “wisdom”, including the deep insight of certain stupidity and racism on the part of police officers in general, and white police officers in particular, shame on you!

all obummer needed to do to not be hurt by what happend in Cambridge was keep his fat mouth shut. Of course, as “the won”, “narcissist in chief”, etc., not opening his mouth (even if just to say “uh, uh, um, huh”) is above his pay grade.

all I can say is: keep it up bambi – we NEED the world to see who you really are.

So according to JackT, Obama can say something that causes race riots all over LA County (just a fictional example for arguements sake) that causes the deaths of dozens of innocent people, all he has to say is “I chose my words poorly” and case closed? No apology would be needed? Just because he currently holds the title of POTUS?

And these are the same people who went after every little nuance of whatever Bush did for 8 years trying to find the least little thing to bring him up on charges for?

There are two things here that don’t seem to pop up on the radar screen. One is that during his almost apology on Friday, BHO said that both sides were to blame but that Gates should not have been PULLED from his home and arrested! Gates was not pulled from his home, he pursued the cop all the way to the street cursing him. This says that either BHO still does not know the facts or he cannot admit that his buddy is at fault. Two, as someone mentioned above Sgt. Crowley should remember JOE THE PLUMBER. He should ask himself what is the worst thing that can come of me going into the lion’s den and what is the best. I think he will realize he is in a no win situation. The tapes must be played or we, as a nation, will be worse off. The trust for all agencies, both political and governmental will be lost.

Jack T, his whole response was a “poor choice of words.” He wanted to make his opinion known & spread the race hustler lie; in this single act, he exposed himself as a Jesse Jackson clone when he ran on the post-racial mantra. This contradiction will not go away quietly. President Obama wants it to go away since he stepped right in the feces without any help.

The last planted question should not have been asked in the first place. The fact it was asked & Obama answered shows just how shallow & hateful President Obama is.

I fully expect his poll numbers to plummet & his precious Obamacare turns into manure.

Do you know who I am?—-I’ve been dying to say that to a cop for some reason. I really don’t think I’d get another warning before the cuffs are slapped on me. Most cops give better treatment to well-off blacks because they are so apt to scream discrimination. Isn’t this reverse discrimination?

Whether a cop is an arrogant ass or not, you act politely, respectfully, and do as they say short of incriminating yourself.

Recall his claim that inflating tires would save the energy equivalent of increased domestic drilling, Alaska and lower 48, offshore and onshore? When he was called on his not knowing the facts, he kept defending himself and refused to acknowledge that he was wrong.

As did his trolls. To this day they insist that that’s correct.

When each side has its own facts, we’re supposed to have a “national dialog on race”? How exactly is that going to work?

But the side effect of this incident is that the black-racism cause is having a hard hit in the political arena. It may not be the case in this incident, but certainly we can not deny that it doesn’t exist elsewhere. But for a long while Obama will not be able to bring up the racism cause up, because of this incident. His credibility is already tarnished, the next time he cried racism people will remember Gates story.

We can also imagine how he could be at odds with Gates and his other connections (or cronies if you will) who has fed him up with this story, and put him in this situation.
Next time I bet he will not be as quickly receptive to their feeding, especially just before a press conference. I bet some other ‘clan’ around Obama is also smiling.

I just heard that avid Vitter was arrested last night trying to break into his condo at the Pampers Towers in New Orleans. He claims to have forgotten his key.

When officers arrive they asked him, “Sir, why are you in diapers?”
Vitter: “Do you know who I am? Someone tried this with me at the airport the other day and I had to let them now who I was and who they were dealing with.
Cop: “I don’t care about your temper tantrum at the airport. I want to know why a 50-year-old man is wearing diapers.”
Vitter: “You’re a socialist! You don’t like the troops! You’re prejudiced against perverts!”

And so it rolls around once more . . . the outrage of the guilty on full display, desperate to prove themselves “no worse” but doomed to show themselves “no better.”

Oh, and Jack T, President Obama rambles many poor choice without a script & teleprompter. He’s having more & more of these moments when he just cannot stand being made fun of for his need for 2 or more teleprompters for any speech. Over reliance on such devices tells me President Obama would make a good news reader on CNN or MSNBC in 3 years time. By then, he will be the most hated President of the United States. He will be radioactive to other Democrats (perhaps sooner coming up in 2010)…

He’s politically impotent. So I just say to the clueless narcissist President Obama: Keep talking. His polls keep going down the more he speaks. The magic is gone. Poof. Illusions do that.

But there is something about the “spectacular accomplishment” of signing huge bills passed without time for reading and debating…

Monday, July 27, 2009

(CNSNews.com) – During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.), questioned the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill.

“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Conyers.

“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”

I think that we are wrong if we judge this story a “mistake”.
This President WANTS to fan the fires of race wars, exactly in the same way and for the same reasons he wants to fan the fires of class war.
As a marxist, it’s his creed : the more chaos, the better.
He’s weakening the structures of America’s economy (cap and trade, health rationing), of America’s military might (missile defense , F22) and he is spreading chaos in the society (Black Panthers not charged for threatening the voters, insults to the LEOs, new rules that dictate not to arrest illegals).

As I have already said in other posts, Americans have not the habit of fighting REAL subversives AT HOME: we fought the totalitarians abroad only, for generations.
We think politics, the subversives think WAR.
We need to readjust, if we want to understand what is really happening.

If Gates had been a white guy you clowns would have been whining about “Obama’s brown shirts are here! They’re arresting us in our own homes? Since when is being opinionated an offense?!” Waco! Waco! Waco!”
Quit being such pussies.

Why do you think Obozo is too arrogant to apologize? This man has been going all over the globe apologizing for how bad America is/has been, how bad we have been to the muslim world, how arrogant we have been as a country, etc. His administration has been doing nothing but apologizing for the past several months. Even his Secy of State Clinton has apologized to India for the weather! It is more that our apologizer-in-chief will not apologize when it makes HIM rather than his country look bad.

Academic race-hustlers are the worst of the bottom-feeders. I remember my college days when a foreign exchange student removed a salt shaker from a table where black students were sitting. One of these students happened to be the head of a black student organization that had recently confiscated and trashed all the college newspapers that had an article criticizing affirmative action (prompting the college president to opine, “this is the unfortunate result when open expression and diversity collide”). Anyway, after the salt shaker was removed, that black student threw all the dishes off the table and started screaming about white racism, and later held a “racial teach-in” at one of the dorms about the continued evils of (white) racism.

Though I hadn’t put it that way, I think your critique is perfect. People here seem to view everything through the same lens of victimization. No matter what happens, they are opposed to whatever Obama says about it. On the bright side, the number of comments on this entire site wouldn’t compete with even one DailyKos diarist’s comment section. Its a sad and pitiful group, but their numbers are dwindling quickly.

No matter what ya think of Gates or Obama, Gates was arrested for being an a hole..in his own home and on his own property. (Contempt of Cop) Think about that the next time you’re being rude to someone on your own property and in your own home. Free speech is dead and you’re cheering about it.

So…have you heard about NLE-09? Foreign troops on the roads and streets of the US while flying the UN flag and wearing blue helmets? Going on right now. Today. Under your noses…and you’re concerned about promoting and defending the big government police state that you all say that you are against.

1. Gates called Cambridge police HQ when Crowley questioned him, expecting access to the chief to discipline the officer.
2. Harvard University had executives at Cambridge police headquarters within minutes of the arrest, and fellow Harvard professor Charles Ogletree is representing Gates.
3. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons spoke out in Gates’ favor, imposed a gag order on the Cambridge PD, and is starting a disciplinary “investigation.”
4. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick spoke out in Gates’ favor, and the Middlesex County DA dropped the charges within hours.
5. President Obama slandered the Cambridge PD before the entire nation on prime-time TV.

How, exactly, is a working-stiff police sergeant to contend with all that? He can’t.

Even worse than the racism in this case (and there is racism…by Gates) is the classism. It becomes more and more clear to me as time goes on that the political and media elite in this country see the population as being divided into two categories: Those holding at least bachelor’s degrees from private colleges, and drooling idiots.

(sarcasm on)
How dare a mere policeman question a Harvard professor? How dare some plumber from Ohio question the economic wisdom of the One? How dare some wench from Alaska with a communications degree from the University of Idaho seek the second-highest office in the land? How dare some crusty old fart who graduated last in his class from the Naval Academy seek the highest office in the land? Egad, we are overrun by these unwashed ignorant masses! I need a weekend on Martha’s Vineyard just to wash the stench from my nostrils!
(sarcasm off)

As everyone knows, there is no biological or even genetic basis for dividing people into “races” based on their physical appearance. “Race” is a social and political construct invented by the power-seeking class to divide and rule over the rest of us. As charter members of the power-seeking class, politicians and media mavens will always obsess on the racial aspect of any event, idea or policy.

“If Gates had been a white guy …” we never would have heard about the story. I suggest though that you run with this. I am sure it will help you strengthen congressional majorities in ’10 to super ultra mega veto proof.

“…as I reached the door, a female voice called out to me. I turned and looked in the direction of the voice and observed a white female, later identified as Lucia Whalen…told me that it was she who called. She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of Ware Street. She told me that her suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry. Since I was the only police officer on location and had my back to the front door as I spoke with, I asked that she wait for other responding officers while I investigated further…

Attorney Wendy Murphy, who represents Whalen, also categorically rejected part of the police report that said Whalen talked with Sgt. James Crowley, the arresting officer, at the scene.

“Let me be clear: She never had a conversation with Sgt. Crowley at the scene,” Murphy told CNN by phone. “And she never said to any police officer or to anybody ‘two black men.’ She never used the word ‘black.’ Period.”

If Crowley was lying about the conversation–and there’s no reason to doubt Whalen–than nothing Crowley wrote in his report about what happened before his encounter with Gates is true [and neither is anything that other officers on the scene wrote, either]. I can’t wait to see what else comes out in the coming days.

Except, Warren (#91), Gates *wasn’t arrested in his house.* He was arrested in the middle of the street in the middle of a foul-mouthed tirade in the presence of quite a few witnesses. And insisted (apparently) on being taken downtown to file a complaint about the cop.

Sure, “disorderly conduct” is a silly class of crime, used primarily by the police as an excuse to remove disruptive people from a situation. As such, it’s probably worth looking at getting rid of such police tactics, and perhaps giving them some other option for controlling situations.

Sgt Crowley wins Police Oficers’ Medal for controversial “indecent exposure” arrest of Cambridge area Grandmother in her own shower. The Fraternal Order of Police, and the police oficer’s union stand by the arrest.

“…but like his predecessor, he found it impossible to say “I am sorry” or “I was wrong.”

His predecessor did not wade into things that are no business of the President, and make ill-considered conclusions about them on the spur of the moment on national TV.

And if as I surmise, you think GWB should have “apologized” for not finding WMD’s in Iraq, I suggest you could go onto YouTube and find dozens of others in both parties making exactly those same statements and assumptions. Coming to the wrong conclusion about an issue that was deliberately obscured by a powerful tyrant, but one that is of critical importance and cannot be ignored, and doing so after getting advice from the professionals trained and paid to do so, is nothing to apologize about.

Only in the mind of a muddle-headed liberal is that the same as shooting your mouth off about something you know nothing about, thus displaying your lack of judgement, ignorance and predjudies, and thus demeaning your office.

Obama’s comments clearly show how inexperienced he is to run this Nation for ALL. A small incident in a small town and it has the eyes of The President of the US. Pathic. It also reveils the deep burning embers of how he agrees with likes of Rev. Wright. (note: empathic, activist judges to overturn the Consitition) This country has seen nothing yet to what this man and his party will do to this country.

This is Al Sharpton – Tawana Brawley all over again, and like Steven Pagones, James Crowley is being ruthlessly attached by black racists who have the power to destroy. In this case, it is Obama and Gates making the false charges. The MSM would be complicit again if it were not for blogs and web news. That Obama is repeating Al Sharpton’s tactics is shocking and should cause everyone to worry about our country.

“FEMA Takes Preparations for Martial Law to the Next LevelFEMA is preparing to take its martial law exercises to the next level this July.”
**********
Someone in a previous post, could not find it again, mentioned NLE09. It is very interesting. While we sleep….

Also, I agree with most of what #86 says. This race crap with Gates is a smoke screen..
I was shocked that my SIL is an Obama supporter. She is a sweet, naive, lost hippie type person. I love her, she’s my family. But, we cannot broach the subject of Obama. She says Bush did this and this and this, and we need Obama to help sweep this mess up..puke
…. So, we do not speak of politics. We will revisit Obama land when the smoke clears after the 2010 vote, unless martial law is declared by some riot before them. to me this only goes to show what type of people support Obama.

98. myna: “Teachable moment for liberaltards who voted for Commander O. The tape was release and sounds like Gates is the biggest racist here.”

I’m sorry, am I now supposed to regret voting for President Obama because another black man who has no relation to the president was arrested for pissing off a Boston cop? The president was right, the police did act stupidly in that case. Since when is it a crime to be an ***hole?

It’s hysterical that the right-wingers claim to be all about personal freedom, individual rights and property rights, but when it comes to a black guy getting busted on his own property for doing nothing more than shooting his mouth off, you idiots celebrate this situation as some sort of vindication of your racist theories on black people.

After about a minute on this site, it becomes crystal clear that when the reactionary right-wing says “state rights” they mean “don’t tell me that I have to let my kid get educated in science”; when they say “individual rights” they mean “white rights” and when they say say “property rights”, they mean “this neighborhood/country club/swimming pool is restricted”.

You assume that one has to be black to be pulled over but that is not true in the least. 10 years ago you could travel along any of the highways in NJ and you will find people of all races pulled over by cops of all races. They were profiling based on your looks and the car you were driving or the neighborhood you were in. I know because it happened to me when I had a beard and was driving in Princeton.

BUT, Gates is a professional in the racism game because that is how he makes his living. He “teaches” people about racism and if it does not exist or is disappearing his job no longer has meaning, if it ever did

Unlike that horrible “Joe the Plumber” guy, Sgt. Crowley must have led a squeaky clean existence…or we’d already be reading and hearing of his nasty divorce, unpaid parking tickets, delinquent taxes, barking dog, late mortgage payment in Oct ’93, C- in 8th grade history and unkempt flower beds….with all research courtesy of busybody, unionized goverment employees with too much time on their hands.

The thing about Obama that scares me the most is his incredible narcissism. Like the girl in the Eagles song, he found out early that he could turn a head with just a smile. People who believe that they can change minds or handle difficult situations/negotiations by force of their wonderful personality, when things don’t turn out as they expect, are not able to sit back and accept the result as “just business”. They take it very personally, and their reactions are typically way out of proportion, as a result. That’s a real problem when you’re dealing with wackos on the world stage.

It is reasonable to presume that Obama, speaking in front of tens of millions of press conference viewers, was consciously filtering his words to avoid political potholes. This notion is reinforced by the official White House expression of shock that his comments had caused such consternation. What light might this shed on what he really thinks about race in America?

Another really good article right to the last two sentences. I have no idea what those final 23 words were intended to say.

Regardless, if the Obama Presidency were a cargo ship full of country-bankrupting programs and oodles of dollars of earmarks intended to fill the pocketbooks of private interest groups, the Gates fiasco is the equivalent of a sub hitting the racist, bigoted (you’re all a bunch of cowards) ship Obama broadside with two torpedoes. Might not sink her. But it’ll surely get his attention.

And leave the sister ship ObamaCare dead in the water.

Interesting, though, today, PJM leads with this Gates article.

But what about the New York and LA Times?

Well, shiver my timbers. The Gates story about racism from the White House to Gates house in Cambridge isn’t even on the front page. They’re cheerleading. “Obama, Obama, he’s our man, New home buying is up, hey, yes we can”.

I guess the editors believe in burying those Obama skeletons likity split. I didn’t even see a smattering of any teaching moments.

About today’s mainstream media, I’m forced to ask once more.

Where is their ethics, their commitment to dig for the truth wherever it takes them? I mean I know they’re capable of digging.

When Sarah Palin started looking like a threat to Obama, remember how the media horde invaded Wasilla, Alaska looking to kill Palin’s credibility searching for any scintilla of dirt or corruption. All they found were people who praised her.

When they couldn’t find any negative stuff, they made it up, saying Palin’s daughter’s child was Palins, or something or other like that.

Polite Republicans call this media bias. Well, I may be a Republican. And have my polite moments. But I’m sick and tired of Obama’s race card playing (I don’t look like the guys on your money)(those stupid police in Cambridge).

And I’ve had it with Obama’s lying. “No earmarks in my Presidency.”

I’ve had with with his lying time and time again. About Ayers. About Wright. About his Grandmother. About his birth certificate. About the midnight hour need to sign his stimulus bill. About ObamaCare and how it won’t lead to health care rationing, how it won’t lead to companies big and small no longer offering private insurance plans for employees. About how congress will have the same health care that the average citizen does. What a bald faced lie that is.

I could go on for three and a half more years enumerating one Barack whopper after another. They’d end up circling the world a hundred times, maybe more.

Bottom line, though, only reason Barack, hapless Harry and niggardly Nancy can get away with these lies is the fact Obama has a niggardly media covering for him.

The Gates story today, totally off the main steam media star’s front page. How is that possible without wanton corruption? Ethically empty media Obama cheerleaders; a bevy of tap dancing butt kiss talking heads, trash talking j school pukes.

Know what? Calling this trash the “biased media” doesn’t quite hit the descriptive nail on the head. Not anymore. Not for me.

They’re something more. Something much more nefarious. More wanton and wicked. For they’ll say, write and do most anything for their Messiah Master who sends tingles up their legs and who knows where else. When they’re especially good boys and girls, he hires them. Which is the carrot for continuing to do his dirty work.

What are they really? Where I come out is with are two words that describes these heinous hacks to a tee.

From henceforth, at least as for as Rachel is concerned, we’re talking about something a thousand times worse than garbage journalism.

“The President is right in not apologizing. He already made it clear that it was a poor choice of words. That’s all you need to do. As President you have to be careful not to look weak, and you can’t bow to pressure under any circumstances. You do what ever you want as President and let the chips fall where they may, but you never, ever apologize for anything.”

“Interesting, #96 is incontrovertible evidence that Crowley was lying. No one seems very interested in the truth here. Not surprising.”

I’ll give it a go. If you read the link provided in #96, it is very clear that Whelan has motivation to change her story–she is being harassed by the Leftist mob (bloggers accusing her–nonsensically–of racial profiling, as the story has it) and desperately, whether out of genuine fear of having a permanent target on her back for the Daily Kos types, White guilt, or some kind of “person of color” solidarity, wants to get on the “progressive” side of things before it’s too late. Anyway, if they release the tape of her 911 call along with Crowley’s radio communication we’ll know for sure. My money’s on the cop, but we’ll see.

At any rate, thanks for the link–it was illuminating to see what animals these leftist bloggers are–viciously attacking a witness to a possible crime for describing what the apparent perpetrators looked like. Defining racial profiling down. As Andrew Klavan pointed out in a recent Pajamas Media presentation, the Left’s argument was, is, and will remain: “Shut up!”

1. In the event that a suspect’s anger is escalating, in order to prevent it from reaching a point of being out of control, suspect should be separated from others and held until he/she has calmed down.

2. Failure to secure and diffuse a hostile situation could result in violence being perpetrated by the suspect. Never leave the scene while anger is on-going.

For those ignoramuses in here who don’t understand police procedure, it’s called CYA: Cover Your Ass.

Let’s take this situation a bit further, shall we? Let’s say Crowley left the scene while Gates was still shouting insults and on a tear. The officer is NEVER to assume the suspect will simply calm down just because he has removed himself from the scene/situation. What if Gates had procured a hand gun and started shooting all the white folks gathered around? It isn’t unheard of for people to lash out with violence when they are angered and frustrated.

You have to see this from the cop’s point of view and you need to remember that the people they encounter everyday tend to be doing something wrong and/or lying. They simply cannot assume anything without risking their own lives or the lives of bystanders.

Stop blaming the cop for Gates unwarranted and outrageous behavior. Innocent people don’t lash out at the police when they are being protected, you know. Gates behavior reeked of some kind of guilt. Just what was he up to when Crowley appeared on the scene? Gates started freaking out before he even knew why Crowley was there. That’s NOT the behavior of an innocent.

You are all terrified of Gates because he exposes your hypocrisy. He is a strong black man who doesn’t come from the white suburban “heartland” and is unapologetic about it. The decisions he has made and his very existence put the lie to your hollow wingnut “values.” That is why you attack and attack – because you are afraid.

“The President is right in not apologizing. He already made it clear that it was a poor choice of words. That’s all you need to do. As President you have to be careful not to look weak, and you can’t bow to pressure under any circumstances. You do what ever you want as President and let the chips fall where they may, but you never, ever apologize for anything.”

LOLOLOLOL!!!! Obama is the quintessential male effeminate. He not only apologized to the Europeans – for no reason whatsoever – he also bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia! Good God – grow up for pete’s sake.

This incident isn’t about race. Other issues surrounding this issue are a form of bait and switch. The issue is about freedom. That’s the bottom line. Had Gates not been a black man or not been a liberal, the current narratives from the right as well as the left would have been much different. (In that case, the left would be arguing the right’s present position awhile the right would arguing theirs.)

Many of you who post here and read this say that you support The Constitution. The problem is that your words and deeds don’t match what you say you believe. If you support The Constitution, Gates had every right to spout off, no matter what he said or to whom, or even how loudly he spouted off. (The cop may have legitimately filed a libel suit, at worst.) Gates was in his own home. Period. If a man has no rights within his own home and on his own property, not even to freedom of speech? Well, in that case, regardless of what an LEO or judge thinks, regardless of what you may think or believe, there is no Constitution to protect him. Your freedoms are then a facade. A lie that you live and promote.

Currently, left vs right is merely a matter of which flavor of fascism you prefer. Corporations own and influence the behaviors of both your favorite and least favorite politicians. Their FEC reports and their subsequent votes tell the tale.

The arguments from both sides are very seldom about freedom or about Constitutional ideals. This case and the arguments promoted by both sides are a example of that.

Many of you have openly stated that Gate’s behavior should be regulated and and punished…when he was merely trying – however ineptly – to protect his own home, his privacy, and his rights, freedoms and liberties from the police state that is the America reality.

President Obama is capable of saying sorry. Unfortunatley, he is not capable of saying sorry for himself. He is capable of going around the world and saying he is sorry for the United States and saying he is sorry for things he has no right or obligation to say sorry for.

#96 Moho: Did it ever occur to you that she’s lying because she’s embarrassed? After all, Gates IS her neighbor, and yet she didn’t recognize him at his own front door. And perhaps, as a liberal, she doesn’t want to be called a racist. Perhaps her description of “two black males” was a slip of her paradoxal tongue.

People need to understand that most cops don’t go out of their way to make arrests and have to write up reports. They are time consuming and fraught with inconsistencies – mainly from “eye witnesses.” If cops had their druthers, all calls such as the Gates would end in a “no arrests, no citations” note in their shift journal.

While I agree with your 5 points, one of most important observations about Obama’s handling of the Gates affair is missing from your analysis. The observation is that Obama did not rationalize Gates’ anger, and the racism that was perceived and accused.

There is a big difference between “perceiving” and “knowing”. If “racism” were a casual term, the distinction would not be that relevant. But racism is far from casual. Even allegations of racism have the ability to incite more anger than your “average” injustice.

Obama failed to rationalize the officer’s actions, because he never described why the officer would choose to arrest Gates. Then, Obama failed to correctly rationalize Gates’ actions, because he never explained why Gates would accuse the officer of racism in those circumstances. Of course, he could not “know” what was in the mind of each individual, but by failing to be specific and still rendering judgement, he implicitly condoned “perceiving” over “knowing”.

If perceiving racism is enough to accuse another of racism, destructive anger will dominate in discussions about racism. If Obama does not see that anger can emerge from events like these, he is much more comfortable with anger than he leads us to believe…

Another terrific article right to the last two sentences. I have no idea what those final 23 words were intended to say.

Regardless, if the Obama Presidency were a cargo ship full of country-bankrupting programs and oodles of dollars of earmarks intended to fill the pocketbooks of private interest groups, the Gates fiasco is the equivalent of a sub hitting the racist, bigoted (you’re all a bunch of cowards)(the cops acted stupidly) ship Obama broadside with two torpedoes. Might not sink her. But it’ll surely get his attention.

And leave the sister ship ObamaCare dead in the water.

Interesting, though, today, PJM leads with this Gates article.

But what about the New York and LA Times?

Well, shiver my timbers. The Gates story about racism from the White House to Gates house in Cambridge isn’t even on the front page. They’re cheerleading. “Obama, Obama, he’s our man, New home buying is up, hey, yes we can”.

I guess the editors believe in burying those Obama skeletons lickety split. I didn’t even see a smattering of any teaching moments.

About today’s mainstream media, I’m forced to ask once more.

Where is their ethics, their commitment to dig for the truth wherever it takes them? I mean I know they’re capable of digging.

When Sarah Palin started looking like a threat to Obama, remember how the media horde invaded Wasilla, Alaska looking to kill Palin’s credibility searching for any scintilla of dirt or corruption. All they found were people who praised her.

When they couldn’t find any negative stuff, they made it up, saying Palin’s daughter’s child was Palins, or something or other like that.

Polite Republicans and libertarians call this media bias. Well, I may be a Republican. And have my polite moments. But I’m sick and tired of Obama’s race card playing (I don’t look like the guys on your money).

I’ve had it with Obama’s lying. “No earmarks in my Presidency.”

I’ve had with with his lying time and time again. About Ayers. About Wright. About his Grandmother. About his birth certificate. About the midnight hour need to sign his stimulus bill. About ObamaCare and how it won’t lead to health care rationing, how it won’t lead to companies big and small no longer offering private insurance plans for employees. About how congress will have the same health care that the average citizen does. What a bald faced lie that is.

I could go on for three and a half more years enumerating one Barack whopper after another. But Barack has had it his way long enough.

Bottom line, only reason Barack, hapless Harry and niggardly Nancy can get away with these lies, is the fact Obama has a niggardly media covering for him.

The Gates story today, totally out of the main steam star media front pages. How is that possible without wanton corruption? Ethically empty media Obama cheerleaders. A bevy of tap dancing butt kissing talking heads, trash talkers j school pukes.

Know what? Heaping words like trash on the “biased media” doesn’t quite hit the descriptive nail on the head. Not anymore. Not for me.

They’re something more. Something much more nefarious. More wanton and wicked. For they’ll say, write and do most anything for their Messiah Masta who sends tingles up their legs and who knows where else. When they’re especially good boys and girls, the BoyKing hires them. Which is the carrot for continuing to do his dirty work.

What are they really? Here’s where I come out. For me, two words describe these heinous creatures to a tee.

From henceforth, at least as for as Rachel is concerned, we’re talking about something a thousand times worse than garbage journalism.

I think a lot of the numbskulls here have been clamoring for the 911 tapes. Well here they are, have fun:

July 28, 2009
Police Release 911 Call in Gates Case
By ABBY GOODNOUGH

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The woman who called 911 to report a possible breaking and entering at the home of Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. told the dispatcher that she had “no idea” if the two men she saw were breaking in, and said that, in fact, they might live there.

A recording of the call, released on Monday by the Cambridge Police Department, raised new questions about the case, which ended in the arrest on July 16 of Professor Gates, a prominent Harvard scholar, for disorderly conduct. The charge was later dropped.

The caller, Lucia Whalen, told the dispatcher she was calling on behalf of an older woman who lived on the street and had seen the men — who turned out to be Professor Gates and his cab driver — forcing their way into the home. Police officials said the woman had just moved into the neighborhood. Ms. Whalen works on the block.

“They kind of had to barge in and they broke the screen door and they finally got in,” Ms. Whalen said on the recording, adding that she had also seen two suitcases on the porch.

She later added, “I don’t know if they live there and just had a hard time with their key.”

At one point, the dispatcher asked if she thought the men were breaking into the house.

“I don’t know,” Ms. Whalen said, “because I have no idea.”

The dispatcher asked Ms. Whalen if the two men were black, white or Hispanic. “There were two larger men,” she said. “One looked kind of Hispanic, but I’m not really sure.” As for the second man, she said, “I didn’t see what he looked like at all,” according to the tape.

Ms. Whalen, who was calling on her cell phone from in front of Professor Gates’s house, stayed on the scene until the police arrived. A report filed by the arresting officer, Sgt. James M. Crowley, said she told him she had seen “what appeared to be two black males with backpacks” on the porch of the home.

Police officials stood by the report in interviews over the weekend, but on Monday, Ms. Whalen’s lawyer said she had never mentioned race to Sergeant Crowley.

“She didn’t speak to Sergeant Crowley at the scene except to say, ‘I’m the one who called,’ ” said the lawyer, Wendy J. Murphy. “And he said, ‘Wait right there,’ and walked into the house. She never used the word black and never said the word ‘backpacks’ to anyone.”

The Cambridge police did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the inconsistency.

Ms. Whalen said she called the police because the neighbor saw the incident and was concerned.

“Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all,” she said, on the tape.

The police also released a recording of the radio communications between Sergeant Crowley and a dispatcher just before and during the episode. When the sergeant asked if the dispatcher knew the race of the suspects, she answered, “Unknown on the race,” adding that “one may be Hispanic, I’m not sure.”

After Sergeant Crowley arrived at the home, according to the tape, he radioed that Professor Gates was in fact the resident but described him as “uncooperative” and asked for backup, saying, “Keep the cars coming.” He also asked the dispatcher to “send the Harvard University police this way.”

The confrontation between Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley set off a heated national debate about race. Professor Gates said he had been a victim of racial profiling; Sergeant Crowley said that race had nothing to do with the arrest and that he took the professor into custody because he was shouting and acting unruly.

Steve Chapman on Obama the candidate: “He didn’t jump to conclusions, he didn’t ignore inconvenient evidence and he didn’t blunder into messes.”

Oh yeah? How about his pompous claim that the surge couldn’t or wouldn’t work–how’s that for not jumping to conclusions? How about ignoring overwhelming evidence that there is no man-made global warming, or at least the “science” proclaiming it is questionable at best–how’s that for not ignoring incovenient evidence? And finally, not blundering into messes? Hello Trinity and Rev. Wright? Hello Joe the Plumber?

I don’t know who Chapman is, but his knees must be sore from blowing Obama instead of listening during the campaign.

Klavan is a weenie. Every piece by him lately has been some variation of “Liberals are mean and keep telling me to shut up! That’s a violation of my free speech!”

Ridiculing a person or telling a person to shut up is not a violation of his/her free speech; if it were, O’Reilly would have been kicked off the air years ago.

In America, if you are vocalizing an opinion that I think is stupid, I have a God-given right to tell you so. I even have the right to ridicule you. So grow a spine and defend your views. If rather than rationally defending your statements and beliefs, you instead whine that you’re rights are being violated, it’s just going to lead me to believe that your views are indefensible.

When he gets away from the teleprompter he becomes the man he really is and not the one that he has been cleverly crafted to appear. He is 100% the believer of Black Liberation Theology. The disciple of Jeremiah Wright. The guy who sat and listened to him spew hate for 20 years and took his kids along for the ride. He himself is a racist and it was plain to see a year and a half ago. Only the sad thing for America is that no one was looking. A disagreement between a white and a black. Always the white guys fault. The cry of racism always gets shouted out. That I find this president to be insulting is among one of his best traits. When is he going to go away. I can say with 100% certainty that I would despise him just as much if he were white.

BB, The 911 call exposes the truth; the woman identified two men–never mentions race, but identifies one as possibly Hispanic in appearance; she called because of the rash of recent break-ins in the neighborhood. Furthermore, the police have everything on tape & it reveals Gates spouting racist crap at the cops. Gates gets unruly, mad, & does not cooperate with the cops. Gates & President Obama have been exposed as racist bigots. They would fit right in with Archie Bunker & George Jefferson.

Just between you, me and the Internet, I don’t really care to discuss the 2nd time.

But the 1st time, they were questioning the neighborhood to see if anyone had noticed anything at a house that had been burlarized the day before, and the last time they were seeking help looking for a lost/stolen/wandered-off child.

At least judging by the police report, Prof. Gates’ really jumped the gun. I do hope that, if a child of his neighborhood disappears, next time he can restrain himself a bit better.

As others have mentioned, I wonder what sort of action/inaction the prof would prefer the police take, if they should again receive a call reporting a possible burglery or other disturbance at his house. Maybe they should just not bother checking it out?

You all do know the police report, at least, is posted on Smoking Gun?

President Obama’s malignant narcissism prevents him from being wrong on any subject; in his tiny little world, he is never wrong. This is Obama’s problem. And one of the main reasons he cannot tell a good, funny joke. His narcissism prevents him from any true self-deprecation humor. All he can do is hurl insults.

President Obama’s term will be a very long 3 years for him & us. He will get tired of being President of the United States since he would rather be Dictator Obama.

I wonder, when Lil Skippy Gates cashes his Harvard paycheck at the bank, and the newly hired white teller asks for the eminent professor`s ID, is THAT racism? Or was the last episode Gate`s way for EVERYONE in America to know who he was?

Has anyone spent as much time investigating the background of the Cambridge Police Department as they have Professor Gates’ background and history? (Joe the Plumber, anyone? Oh, that’s right. It’s good when you do it, but it’s evil when liberals do it. Sorry. I fergot.)

You see…Gates has a good point about racial profiling. The Cambridge Police Department seems to have an ongoing problem with that…

87. Now and Then wrote:
If Gates had been a white guy you clowns would have been whining about “Obama’s brown shirts are here! They’re arresting us in our own homes? Since when is being opinionated an offense?!” Waco! Waco! Waco!”
Quit being such pussies.

Peter writes: If Gates had been a white guy, as you say, it would have been much more simple.

Sgt: Excuse me, sir. Would you please come out on the porch and speak with me?
White Gates: Certainly, Officer. How may I help you?
Sgt: The police received a report of a possible break-in at this address. May I see some ID so I can be sure you are the resident?
White Gates: Why certainly, officer. Here is my driver’s license with my photo and correct address on it.

White Gates then presents his ID and asks if there is anything else he can do to help. Sgt. Crowley asks if it would be alright to look around inside, since the report stated there were two men involved. White Gates allows the Sgt to look around. A minute or so later the Sgt is satisfied that the report was a mistake and nothing is out of the ordinary.

Sgt: Thank you for your cooperation. May I suggest you fix your door as soon as possible?
White Gates: Thank you for your concern, Officer. Have a nice day.

Notice no accusations of racism? Notice no calling anyone’s mother anything? Just civil discord and a public servant doing the job for which he is trained.

At my other house around 1995 or 1996, I had the police stop by because I fit their profile of a suspect; however, before I even opened my mouth, they knew I was not the guy. I was too short from the profile (plus missing several other key identifiers that only they knew). They then thanked me for taking the time out of the day & left. I didn’t scream at the cops. I thanked them & went on with my business. They never came back a second time.

I’m a police officer, so this is all of natural interest to me. I’m not sure what you think you’re proving, but a few things to keep in mind:

1. Responding police officers do not listen to the actual 911 call, they get a dispatcher’s summary of it. So Ms. Whalen’s exact wording while talking on the phone is irrelevant.

2. Any experienced cop knows that descriptions are not 100% ironclad certainties anyway. If the dispatcher passed along Ms. Whalen’s iffy description of “kind of Hispanic, but I’m not really sure”, it doesn’t necessarily follow that he would look at Gates and say, “There’s no possible way this is the guy.”

3. Ms. Whalen mentions another woman who saw the event first, and asked her to call. Which means there was another witness, who Sgt. Crowley may have gotten confused with Ms. Whalen, particularly if he called the dispatch center later to get the complainant’s name for his report (I’ve done this myself). Ms. Whalen’s lawyer’s comically sniffy insistence that her client doesn’t look “white” lends credence to this possibility.

Lastly, and most obviously, it seems a bit silly to obsess over Whalen’s description since all parties agree that Sgt. Crowley was talking to the RIGHT GUY. Gates wasn’t a burglar, but he WAS one of the men seen trying to force the door. It seems like Orwellian madness to condemn a cop for racial profiling when he is in fact talking to the person the witness saw!

take a look at the “NLE 09″ site…will open you sleepy eyes..blue is on it’s way to a city near you..”practice just practice”..for a race riot no doubt.

The woman that reported the break in will be, if not already, intimidated to say WHAT EVER!!! the powers to be want said.

Racism is alive and well..thank you Mr. President and Mr. Gates. They have made this all about race, not a job well done by the police. Yeah, well done. Someone reported what they thought was a crime and the cops responded, needed to know who was in the house. Gates picture i.d., would have solved the problem. He had to play the race card. That man has his panties in a wad..

Obama must have a miserable life. Seriously, you want to be one race, so you hate the part of you that isn’t and try to get even with the other part…hhmmmmm some freakin merry go round the man is on.

I don’t care about what has happened in the past. It’s today and tomorrow and what can we do to protect our country that is important.

91. Warren Bonesteel wrote:
No matter what ya think of Gates or Obama, Gates was arrested for being an a hole..in his own home and on his own property. (Contempt of Cop) Think about that the next time you’re being rude to someone on your own property and in your own home.

Peter writes: The way you libtards write, you seem to think Sgt Crowley was either an invited guest in the home or had no reason to be there, and therefor had no right to get mad when a “I have never been outside of a college environment, I’m better than you, race-baiter” starts yelling in his ear so loudly he cannot even hear himself properly.

The truth of the matter is Sgt Crowley was there in the course of his job as a peace officer, trying to determine if the person or people within the home were supposed to be there and, if they were, that they were not in any danger, known or unknown, and by law had the right under exigent circumstances to enter the home and ascertain the situation. All Gates had to do was cooperate and the entire event would have ended in a minute or two. Instead he chose to be uncooperative, disruptive, insulting, and contemptful, and his attitude and actions got him (lawfully) arrested.

You’re the one obsessing over the description, not me. My point has never been about racial profiling; my point is that Crowley wasted the resources and time of the public, and diminished the credibility of police officers in the process. Whatever authority you sought to imbue your poor analysis with by claiming to be a police officer is lost on me. I know and have known several police officers in my lifetime; the good ones will tell you that in every case, arrest is the last, best option, and that if no crime is in process or believed to be in process, you simply leave people alone, no matter what they say to you. Most cops with a brain rely on their smarts and on experience in dealing with the public–just like the hallmark of a master martial artist is never having to use their craft, so is a police officer’s not having to arrest unless absolutely necessary.

The larger point is that Crowley’s report, to be generous, is error-laden–if not outright falsification. If you’re comfortable with the fact that the police department and Crowley want to stand by it, even as bit by bit, its proven to be completely unreliable, then that speaks volumes about the kind of cop you are.

Finally, I don’t care if your a cop or a crack dealer–its elementary that speaking your mind to a police office is not a crime in this country. Gates violated no laws. Your hero wasted everyone’s time, and most importantly, gave all of the good police officers out there a black eye in what everyone knows is a very difficult job.

97. ern wrote:
Sure, “disorderly conduct” is a silly class of crime, used primarily by the police as an excuse to remove disruptive people from a situation. As such, it’s probably worth looking at getting rid of such police tactics, and perhaps giving them some other option for controlling situations.
But don’t let facts get in your way.

Peter writes: You’re right. Next time let’s just taser him into unconsciousness and be on our way.

If you are keeping up with the story in the news today,the state run media monopoly and the left-progressives and the multicultralial academics are still trying to spin this into racial profiling. They do not want justice. They race-baiting for race-pimp power.

As far as I can tell, “Moho” is trying to prove that Crowley lied–it’s not clear how he thinks he can prove that, or what he thinks proving that would in turn prove. On the one hand, it’s a smear campaign in miniature–if Crowley lied about this, well, he might be lying about anyything. But what else, exactly, would he be lying about, and that couldn’t be independently verified? On the other hand, it’s an attempt to race at the center of the issue, at least in some vague way–he wasn’t told they were black, but then he said he was told they were black, and so he must have black on the brain, etc. But the point made by #151 seems hard to answer–everyone agrees that Gates and his driver were the ones entering the dwelling.

And #133 and #137 make Klavan’s point perfectly–it obviously has nothing to do with rights violations (except where it does, as with speech codes, etc.); mostly, it’s about the Left’s paucity of real arguments and Mafia-like accord on demonizing all those they can’t refute. I think Klavan points it out for the sake of ridicule, not to complain, though–making fun of the Left is great fun, and a big business getting bigger. As right here on Pajamas Media. What rich material Obama and the Democrats are providing! My main complaint about Gatesgate is that it could have been much funnier. Maybe Al Sharpton or Farrakhan will get into it yet.

127. Warren Bonesteel wrote:
This incident isn’t about race. Other issues surrounding this issue are a form of bait and switch. The issue is about freedom. That’s the bottom line. Had Gates not been a black man or not been a liberal, the current narratives from the right as well as the left would have been much different. (In that case, the left would be arguing the right’s present position awhile the right would arguing theirs.)

Peter writes: You’re an idiot.

I don’t care if this was Skippy Gates or Rush Limbaugh, anyone who overreacts to the mere presence of a police officer just trying to do his job deserves whatever happens to him, whether it is arrest or being tasered. Left or right, libtard or conservative, it doesn’t matter. Give a cop the “Do you know who I am?” treatment and you should get the “Yes, you’re the person under arrest” treatment in return.

You still haven’t answered my question as to how old you are? Your comments remind me of too many adolescents I’ve had cause to deal with over the years.

Might want to pay attention to Sara. as for her accusations at how she was treated as a woman – Geraldine Ferraro wholley agreed with her, even if she disagrees with her on political matters. (Cause GF got the SAME treatment by the press 20 years ago).

So, what has your hero *successfully* managed? (other than a campaign)

On the one hand, it’s a smear campaign in miniature–if Crowley lied about this, well, he might be lying about anyything.

And, yes, of course, you idiot. He may have pushed his way into the house, not identified himself as a police officer–a whole host of things. There’s a great volume of things that weren’t included in the report to begin that would be necessary to evaluate Crowley’s acts. Did he ever identify himself properly as a police officer? Did he push his way into the house? There’s no mention of how he got into the house in the report; he’s simply on the porch one moment and vaguely referencing being in the kitchen the next.

Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he made numerous errors in the report that we are being asked to take as gospel by the Cambridge PD. At the very least, then, the facts of the case as they have been reported by the police department have to be revisited. If you can’t agree to that, then you’re either a naked knight-stick rubbing power-worshiper, or a liar. Either way, not worth any more of my time.

Moho, what’s sad about your ‘talking points’ is the visceral you espouse in doing so.

Mars vs Hollywood responded to your comment in a professional, respectful manner. Your response: personal attacks of his analysis, lacking intelligence and the kind of officer he is, not to mention a few other insults.. from a few paragraphs he’d written! Who are you, Madame Cleo?

You’ve done the same to me as I’m sure other posters. Your lack of incorporating a lucid manner for discussion with a differing party is quite juvenile.

As stated earlier, the facts from both arenas will be released. Until then, conjecture seems to be the route taken, eh?

There seems to be an unspoken assumption among many in the “being an a hole is not against the law” camp that one’s encounter with a police officer is an occasion for some kind if performance art, where you display your contempt for authority like a good teenager. It’s obvious, though, that anything that makes the situation sem more unpredictable is going lead the police officer to give much less leeway to everyone involved, and rightly so. “Disturbing the peace” is a kind of ambiguous, catch-all, easily abused charge–but that’s because no law can account for all the possible permutations of police-civilian interactions. There has to be a way for officers to fulfill their responsibility to maintain safety in complicated ambiguous situations. So, while I’m not 100% sure Crowley was right, I am 98% sure he was reasonable, and did no real harm; and I am 100% sure that Gates was wrong, at every step along the way, and that he and Obama have set back both officer-civilian and race relations, at least a little.

…..in 2nd to last sentence, that the stimulus is NOT working? Because if you meant the stimulus IS working, then I think you’re 180 degrees wrong.
Those of us with more than 1/2 a brain (including you I’m fairly sure) are getting “Obama fatigue”. I am wiped out, knowing long beforehand in ’08, and seeing now in action, O’s destruction (and Pelosi, Reid) of our country’s economy, and our chances for curing our problems. O and the other Leftists in charge are doing EVERYTHING opposite of what is needed to regain some vitality in our private sector. No need to pontificate excessively, but my God, Obama can’t do anything “right” — because he’s not wired that way. And Gates-Gate shows what an idiotic simpleton he is. He doesn’t even understand that police CAN do their jobs without being racist! Jeez, we are screwed with this dolt of an idealogue. I wish Obama would start playing golf 7 days a week and just stay out of the news. It’s exhausting to follow his revolting behavior. It’s like watching a car crash. We can’t NOT watch it.

“The larger point is that Crowley’s report, to be generous, is error-laden–if not outright falsification. If you’re comfortable with the fact that the police department and Crowley want to stand by it, even as bit by bit, its proven to be completely unreliable, then that speaks volumes about the kind of cop you are.”

If this is the “larger point,” then what, exactly, is the point? If you’re acknowledging that it has nothing to do with race, but at worst is sloppy police work, then you’re undercutting Gates’ whole performance along with Obama’s remarks, all predicated on the “this proves we are still plagued by racism” narrative–you should direct your attention to them, for trying to make something out of this incident that it wasn’t.

Well, you came here and pasted a link attacking Crowley because Whalen had come out and said she never mentioned the men being black, and why it may not be as significant as people might think. I was responding to your link. If it makes you feel better, my comment about obsessing over the description is not about you personally, but about the article you linked to.

“I know and have known several police officers in my lifetime; the good ones will tell you that in every case, arrest is the last, best option”

Two warnings, including one with handcuffs drawn, hardly suggests a cowboy cop eager to bust someone. The law does not require us to warn anyone that they will be arrested; once probable cause is established, the suspect is subject to arrest. If a warning is given, as Sgt. Crowley did, it is typically used as a deterrent to further escalation.

“its elementary that speaking your mind to a police office is not a crime in this country.”

We agree on that. But Gates was not arrested because he “spoke his mind”. He was arrested because he carried his tirade into public while the police were LEAVING.

Yes, for the obvious reason that otherwise no one would be discussing the incident.

There’s no reason to assume Crowley is a liar or behaved inappropriately, other than a desire to insist that he did. And the only basis for that desire is to mindlessly defend Obama, like a good political hack. I hope you’re getting paid, at least.

That’s your characterization. Its otherwise known by people with clear thinking processes as false arrest. I’ve not mentioned Obama or taken the side of Gates once in this discussion. You people are fond of constitutionally based arguments when they suit your anti-Obama attacks, but when it comes time to stand against violations of the constitution that aren’t backed by your party leaders, you wilt. The point is that a Harvard professor was arrested in his own home. We don’t know if race is an issue–although it seems likely to me, its not something I’ll spend time on because I can’t prove it. What we do know is that this happens to people who, because of lack of resources or appearance, are identified as being easy targets by police.

The greater point is that a police officer did what police have been doing for decades–running people in on bogus charges on a whim, costing you money and embittering the public. If this had happened to a white or black person of fewer resources, they would have spent days in jail, and would have to defend themselves on a bogus charge. Just imagine that you’re working a 40 hour a week job in a crappy job, and you lose three days because you were arrested on bullshit like this.

Choose your side. Either you are a defender of the constitution, or you’re willing to fellate the first person that comes at you with a badge. I’d say from what you’ve written that the latter is true, but there’s still time to stand for the principles that are espoused on this website. We all know that they’re written by insincere hacks. The only question is if they’re also read by the same kind of people.

“Its otherwise known by people with clear thinking processes as false arrest.”

I don’t see how this follows. Your contention seems to be that Whalen and Crowley’s differing accounts means that Crowley intentionally lied about talking to her. But, even if we accept that premise, that doesn’t mean that he made a false arrest, because him talking to Whalen had nothing to do with his probable cause for arresting Gates. That probable cause was based on Gates’ behavior.

The law does not require us to warn anyone that they will be arrested; once probable cause is established, the suspect is subject to arrest.

Again, its quite clear: the fact that Whalen claims she didn’t speak to the officer about anything, means that Crowley is either incompetent or lying. Here again, is what I highlighted from the article that you seem to think is all about race.

A report filed by the arresting officer, Sgt. James M. Crowley, said she told him she had seen “what appeared to be two black males with backpacks” on the porch of the home.

Police officials stood by the report in interviews over the weekend, but on Monday, Ms. Whalen’s lawyer said she had never mentioned race to Sergeant Crowley.

“She didn’t speak to Sergeant Crowley at the scene except to say, ‘I’m the one who called,’ ” said the lawyer, Wendy J. Murphy. “And he said, ‘Wait right there,’ and walked into the house. She never used the word black and never said the word ‘backpacks’ to anyone.”

If you were thinking clearly–and this is most disturbing because you claim to be a police officer–you’d see this as a clear need to revisit Crowley’s report.

In any case, you don’t seem to be conversant with the facts. There is at the very least a question as to whether Gates was in public, since he was on his porch. Even if it had been in public, there’s a much higher trigger for disorderly conduct in the state of Mass. The seminal case on the subject, Alegata v. Commonwealth, 353 Mass. 287, (Mass. 1967), discusses the meaning of disorderly conduct under Massachusetts law. Look it up. There is no way in hell that Gates’ attitude constituted legitimate cause. Its not necessarily only up to the discretion of a Mass cop–they have to prove that the acts were creating a dangerous situation for the police and that a reasonable person would have viewed it as such. What we are learning is that no reasonable person would have viewed it that way. Which is why the charges were dropped.

In fact, the majority of disorderly conduct cases are thrown out; they are a fantastic waste of time and taxpayer money, not to mention regular abuses of constitutional freedoms of freedom of speech. Some people believe that race was an element in this case. That can’t be proven, although given what we know about the penchant for police to use nearly any factor that communicates political and legal vulnerability as an excuse to abuse their authority, its a fair accusation.

Beyond that, the officer clearly abused his authority. The reason its come to light is because he did it to an upstanding member of the community, a two decade professor at Harvard, who happens to be black. Wherever the reason it reached national levels of notoriety, the one sure thing is that every citizen of the US would benefit from a frank conversation of abuse of police power–whether it happens because the person is not white, or poor, or homeless, or a drug addict or prostitute or simply because the cop was pissed and thought he could get away with it.

Lastly, the opinions you’ve posted here indicate you have something thinking to do about what it means to be a cop. Don’t come looking around here for sympathy–as I said, one of my best friends from high school is a cop, and even in a city where the murder rate is one of the highest in the nation, he would never discharge his duty like this.

Finally, to all the pearl-clutching posters complaining about lack of civility–clean up your own backyard first. The number of regular racist posters here is sickening. They paint you all with their brush–if you’re wondering why there’s so little respect for your opinions, look at the company you keep.

“The greater point is that a police officer did what police have been doing for decades–running people in on bogus charges on a whim, costing you money and embittering the public. If this had happened to a white or black person of fewer resources, they would have spent days in jail, and would have to defend themselves on a bogus charge. Just imagine that you’re working a 40 hour a week job in a crappy job, and you lose three days because you were arrested on bullshit like this.”

So, it’s just your own animus against the police that’s driving you here–that finally clarifies your stake in this discussion. You’ve obviously got your narrative set up–abuse of power, blue wall of silence, etc., etc. But it’s equally obvious that no one is interested in this particular event for that reason. The point of this thread has been the continued use of race baiting by the left and Obama, and the possible political consequences of that. So, even you were completely right, it wouldn’t change a thing regarding Rubin’s or pretty much anyone’s assessment of Gates (at least post-incident) and Obama. And no one here has argued that if it was indeed a false arrest, there shouldn’t be consequences. Maybe Gates will sue, and keep this going a while longer–and Obama can get asked about it at each point along the way. We can always hope! And while I’m hoping, maybe Obama, in another miscalculation, will put some of the CIA interrogators on trial–or, better yet, a Congressional investigation! With Barbara Boxer et al questioning some CIA agents who got the information that broke up planned attacks–maybe the next four years won’t be so dreary after all.

……Harvard’s rear-end, for the sake of “diversity”. Just like the maniac Cornel West at Princeton. Yesterday, I saw the video of their speech 13 years ago, and they are racist-hate-mongers incarnate. The fact that Obama was (is?) an acquaintance or pal of Gates speaks the obvious about Obama. He’s a terrifying idealogue who “acted” normal during ’08 for the campaign to get moderates to vote for him. And the MSM didn’t reveal his dangerous prescription for the economy. In “Dreams of My Father” he flat-out admitted that he hung out at Occidental College during soph year with Marxist profs. I graduated Oxy 6 months before O started, and I had no idea there were Marxist profs……..but then again, I didn’t take any Poli-Sci classes which is where they must’ve dwelt. Obama is everything our country needs, in the OPPOSITE. Period. He despises capitalism as much as Bill Ayers. Thinks it’s “unfair”. Well, it’ll really be unfair after his “tenure”. Our worldwide economic success in the marketplace depends on freedom and Obama wants constraints.

165. Crusader wrote:
BTW, does anyone notice that “Deep Brain Diarist” is a hit & run troll? After he was eviscerated following #19 comment, he never had the gumption or courage to answer his critics!

Peter writes: I’m willing to give the people who post here, even the trolls, the benefit of the doubt as far as replies are concerned. It is possible people have lives and can’t spend their entire day here at PJM. But generally if more than 24 hours go by and no response, then your assumption may be correct and the trolls have no gumption (or facts) to refute the criticizm.

costing you money and embittering the public….Just imagine that you’re working a 40 hour a week job in a crappy job, and you lose three days because you were arrested on bullshit like this.

That’s what I said. You’re not entirely literate, are you?”

Your horse is dead but you keep on beating it. As I said, let’s hope Gates sues–that’s a good recourse if it turns out that Crowley’s actions were unjustified, and it will be a good show if this whole thing (including the original incident) is really being driven by Gates’ arrogance and desire for his place in the tradition paved by Tawana Brawley and Mike Nifong of racially motivated obscenely false charges.

You don’t really have a good understanding of how conversation works–you firmly believe that this incident fits the pattern determined by your hatred of police and perhaps of authority more generally, but you can’t prove that because no one could in this forum. What we could discuss productively is what it all means politically, which was the point of the post and has remained the point of most of the commenters. But you’ve got your hobby horse (not the one you’ve beaten to death) and while I’d like to call for civility and say that such fanatics are the bane of the internet, etc., they are in fact one its most entertaining features. At any rate, your point is clear–there are some bad cops out there, and thank God we’ve finally exposed that brutal dictatorial state called Cambridge.

Look it up. There is no way in hell that Gates’ attitude constituted legitimate cause.

Not true. In Alegata the court set out to better define the term “disorderly” as used in MGL 272 S53. To do that, they imported language from another part of the code:

“A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if, with purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he: (a) engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior; or (b) makes unreasonable noise or offensively coarse utterance, gesture or display, or addresses abusive language to any person present; or (c) creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor. `Public’ means affecting or likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access.”

Gates’ porch, particularly if near the sidewalk (which is indisputably public space) could meet the definition of “Public” as stated there. Massachusetts still has noise ordinances, after all, do they not?

“Tumultuous” does seem to be a fair description of Gates’ conduct outside the house. Same with “unreasonable noise” if he was yelling at the crowd.

You might argue that the arrest was unwise, or unnecessary, but that’s a separate question. The idea that the arrest was unconstitutional on its face just isn’t tenable.

What are the odds of additional taping besides the 911 call and the Crowley et al reports from the scene?

Might his chest mike have been live and possibly recorded?

Possible, but not likely. The tapes we have heard so far seem to be recordings of the dispatch channel. The only way those would record any conversations while Sgt. Crowley wasn’t transmitting would be if he had a hot radio mike. He probably wouldn’t have done that because it would have precluded any other officer on the air from transmitting.

Most non-radio mikes officers wear (it’s not clear if Crowley had one of these) are linked with the dash-cam in the cruiser, and so only record when the camera is active.

A couple of months ago the alarm in my house went off. The police responded promptly. I showed my driver’s license and agreed to let them in my home to take a look around. DAMN!!! I’m a white woman and they were black cops!!! I coulda been famous had I thrown a fit and not cooperated. If I’d only caused a scene that drew a crowd and made comments about their mommas!!!! DAMN!! Maybe the president would’ve said they acted “stupidly” after I followed them out of my home yelling at them!!! What a wasted moment!!!! I think I’ll trigger my alarm tonight, I want Obama to defend my ignorance!!!!

Crusader @ 165 among others: This is the first time I’ve ever visited this blog. What has struck me about this blog’s trolls is first, how frequently they resort to ad hom attacks and disgusting language. Second, they make assertions but rarely provide trustworthy links. Interestingly, this is not true of all Pajamas Media blogs.

Sorry Mars, cherry picking isn’t going to do it and neither is conflating two seperate charges: “disturbing the peace” and “disorderly conduct”

`Public’ means affecting or likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access.’. . . .[T]he statute. . . aims at activities which intentionally tend to disturb the public tranquility,” and penalizes one who “with purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, . . . creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor.”

“[t]he “public” element of the offense [may be] satisfied if the defendant’s action affects or is ‘likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access.’” They had no access to this man’s porch.

This a rather specific definition of public, one that cannot be applied simply because the man’s house is adjacent to a driveway. Several windows in that man’s house are also adjacent to the driveway, but the charge of disorderly conduct could not be applied there either. Both areas are on private property. Your response is BS from front to back, my friend, and ample evidence of a typical attitude of trying to make the offense fit the charge.

89.moho:”On the bright side, the number of comments on this entire site wouldn’t compete with even one DailyKos diarist’s comment section. Its a sad and pitiful group, but their numbers are dwindling quickly”

i had to laugh out loud on that one,if you don’t know what i mean,go over and read ANY comments thread at DKOS for five minutes.(it will INSTANTY make you glad they’re anti-second amendment).i swear some of you special creatures are so FREAKING hilarious you really deserve a’tip jar’icon.(i’m looking at you sheesh-o)

PS moho why don’t you sashe over to DKOS and try and post a disseting opinion(in the same manner you do here) and see what happens….the unison shrieking of hundreds of thinned-skined,emotionaly crippled,cry babies..and you WILL be banned,after being called every epithet in the book.hypcrites all.

“Its a sad and pitiful group, but their numbers are dwindling quickly”

that about sums it up when describing the quality of trolls here lately…we must be wearing them out.

Thank goodness for Juan Williams. He’s risen to the level of national treasure, along with Krauthammer and very few others. It takes both clarity and guts for Williams to be so honest and spot on.

Our President is a phony. He is Mister Peanut, President Flapdoodle. I am fed up with seeing him on TV umpteen times a day. The guy should go on vacation for the rest of the Summer and just shut up. He could join his friend Skip on Martha’s Vinyard. They could rap together about white racism while the lovely girls romp on the beach.

“Fifth, Obama has fallen into the unfortunate habit of blaming others. He rails at the “Washington” chatter and doesn’t like the “24-hour news cycle.” His press secretary denies flubs rather than apologize.”

Just the beginning, folks…3 plus more years of this! Think Jimmah Carter and you have the “mold” for this kind of presidency. Yuck!

—The way you cons keep going on and on about Gates, you must be truly terrified of him.—

Nope – terrified of having a President who knee jerks a racially inflamatory statement about law enforcement (hint – he’s responsible for law enforcement as chief executive) demonstrating lack of judgement at least, and evil intent at worst. The lack of judgement aligns with his genuflection to Chavez, his bowing to the Saudi King and his flaccid response to Iran.

should crowley accept the invitation to this beer party, it will be seen as a ‘healing moment between the races’ when there was nothing racial about the incident in the first place .. so, obama and gates ‘win’ … ugh.. i need a beer !

Stupid and aggressive with an accelerator of little adult supervision as an adolescent and you have incendiary ingredients. Obama thinks he is above the rest of us as he’s always been able to walk away from challenges and think he’s won.

You see it in every aspect of his life… constant contradictions, false promises with no contrition, lying with figures that suit his need, and never willing to live with outcomes he doesn’t like.

Those who build thrones for themselves are the first to fall.

The dog ate the homework? Naw, that’s too easy. My wife made me do it is more like it, and she’s as corrupt as he is. I don’t know how they sleep at night.

God bless America and please protect us from the adolescent, corrupt politics of Chicago-East.

Re: David S. “Arresting Gates was stupid, and it’s not about race. It’s about respecting the rights of American citizens to enjoy the protection of the Constitution.”

Is the Second Amendment (as defined by the Heller ruling) one of those Constitutional rights of American citizens that Obama holds dear? The answer to that question is no, so please save us your sermonizing about Obama being concerned about respecting the rights of American citizens. It rings more than a bit hollow by now. Next you’re going to tell us that Obama doesn’t shoot missiles into countries we’re not at war with, killing innocent civilians. Or that he thinks signing statements are bad. Or that he thinks permanent detention of people without charge is unconstitutional. Or that he allows five days for the citizenry to review and comment on any bills before he signs them. Or that he thinks being out golfing while US servicemen and women are dying in combat is uncool.

Juan Williams delights me. He used to be such a mod/lib Dem, but he is crossing over more and more to the dark side. He keeps being exposed to reasonable discussion at Fox. It is so much fun to watch the drift rightward.

Same with Greta. She used to be a mod/lib dem, but the abuse of Palin moved her, and now she sees all the lib policies being demonstrated in all their inglory. She interviews all these people, and she hears the Cons making sense, and the Libs blathering the party line without providing any real argument. She is figuring it out in a hurry.

President Obama’s beer invitation is an attempt to quell his own foot & mouth disease; however, still it comes off as condescending. The PR stunt may well backfire. However, I doubt Obama will allow it to be broadcast other than for a simple photo op. Obama’s PR stunt may well cause the controversy to grow…

Inviting the police officer to the White House (why haven’t they changed that racist name yet?) for a beer sounds like a bit of stereotyping by our esteemed Prez. After all, all cops like beer, right? Obama-san is a chablis kind of guy.

Check out the video from the link at post #201, tanstaffl. Notice in the video nowhere do charlatan race-hustlers Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton appear, for the simple reason that there are two (2) black co-workers(?) of Crowley’s who are rightfully standing with him. I applaud and commend these two folks for standing up for a fellow officer having done the right thing. Black America is finally starting to wake up and catch on that the race-baiting by the likes of Jackson, Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, John Conyers, Sheila Jackson-Lee, and let’s not forget Henry Gates, et al, does absolutely nothing to address real racism, and in fact, only exacerbates the situation. Crowley has a stellar record as an officer and Gates acted like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, and got himself stuffed & cuffed.

The 911 tapes clearly said suitcases, and no reference to backpacks. I expect some level of embellishment from both parties…Have you ever read a police report or (been compelled as a witness)sworn an affidavit? Police seem to be schooled to exaggerate the gist of the situation. I always wondered why I couldn’t use my own words for one of those things.

It is very exasperating when someone puts words in your mouth so to speak.

However that being said, it seems to me that Gates is the one that acted stupidly, having lost his composure so easily.

If I cared that much I suppose I would read the police report for a chuckle.

When a statute lays out a list of prohibited actions, choosing one of them that describes a suspect’s behavior is not “cherry picking”. For illustration, the law that Gates was charged under, 272-S53, mentions “Common night walkers, common street walkers, both male and female”, as well as “common railers and brawlers”. It is not necessary for Gates to be all those things in order to be charged.

and neither is conflating two seperate charges: “disturbing the peace” and “disorderly conduct”

Since the 272-S53 specifically mentions “disturbers of the peace” as one of the offender types, I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.

‘likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access.’” They had no access to this man’s porch.

No, but they had access to the sidewalk, and Gates’ behavior was “likely to affect” them there. You seem to be under the impression that because a porch is private property that its owner is free to engage in any conduct there and it would be no different than if done in the recesses of the home. I’m afraid you’re mistaken.

For example, if someone wants to practice aiming their gun in their living room, they’re fine. If they’re doing it while on their porch facing the sidewalk and people are walking by, they’re going to get a visit from the police. The same would apply to, say, masturbating, or playing the electric guitar with the amps cranked up to 11. The porch is not public space, but it can affect public space, by the statutory language that you yourself are quoting.

198. Marc Malone:
“Same with Greta. She used to be a mod/lib dem, but the abuse of Palin moved her . . . ”

Yeah, moved her husband, too, to advise Palin on communications strategy. Of course, don’t consider that a conflict of interest. You should be more worried about Greta’s religious beliefs. Specifically, she believes that “75 million years ago an evil galactic ruler named Xenu solved overpopulation by bringing trillions of people to Earth in DC-8 space planes, stacking them around volcanoes and nuking them. Then the souls of these dead space aliens were captured and boxed up and taken to cinemas where they were shown films of what life should be like, false ideas containing God, the devil and Christ and told to get ill.” (holysmoke)

I think someone should tell Jesus that Greta is an enemy of the one true religion, don’t you?

It’s kinda simple, folks. Gates was a loudmouth, guilty of the basic crime of being stupid. That’s why he was cuffed and arrested. The laws books are thick enough that all he had to do was expel gas and he would have broken some dumb statute. Most cops overlook most things – there are more important things to do. But this Gates fellow had to make a huge stink.

Peter writes: Everyone keeps pointing out how the 911 recording differs from Sgt Crowley’s filed report, but no one is latching on to the fact that Crowley NEVER heard the 911 tapes! All he heard was a dispatcher telling him a citizen reported a possible burglery at a certain address, and Crowley went there to check it out.

Does anyone know (or even care) what the dispatcher said to Crowley? How do we know the dispatcher did not say “Backpacks” instead of “suitcases”? How do we know the dispatcher isn’t the one who confused “possibly hispanic” with “black”?

Everyone (on the left) is jumping all over every slight inconsistancey without knowing exactly what went on. There are likely other tapes that recorded what was said between Crowley and dispatch and the other officers that responded to the call. What will they say?

Moho wrote:
‘likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access.’” They had no access to this man’s porch.

Peter writes: Perhaps you should also take into account that Gates was quoted as saying “Do you know who I am? You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

Sorry, but that could very easily be considered a threat by the police. On one hand he could be trying to tell them he has friends in high places and they would be sorry. But likewise, as far as those police officers knew, it could just as easily also mean “I have a gun in my house and I’m going to go get it and use it on you.”

A police officer’s first duty is to come home alive at the end of each shift. And racist idiots making threats, whether on their own porch or not, need to be dealt with accordingly. Some of the libtards around the country are crying that Grates was expressing free speech, but even free speech does not allow you to yell “Fire” in a crowded movie theater.

Well, the “sheeple” elected this eloquent, incompetent, arrogant empty suit from Chicago. Much of this would be hilarious, were not THE ANOINTED ONE the most dangerous threat to the way of life that the apathetic, MTV population has faced in the history of this United States. I was born in a free country 75 years ago, and by God, I will strive with all my (old) might to die in a free country, which I hope to pass on to my children, grand children, and now one great-grandchild.

Dozens of legal professionals have already commented that shouting at someone on your stoop is not disorderly conduct. Indeed, you don’t seem to understand what the definition of public is in this context–there has to be someone there outside of the house witnessing the event–literally right on that driveway at the time of the incident. That’s the definition of public here; and there was no one on that driveway. There is a different standard, of course, for the other violations you are talking about, which are contingent not on public so much as the potential harm to a person. Brandishing a weapon at no one in your house isn’t a crime–it fails to be a crime not because there is no one in your house, but because you aren’t threatening another individual with it. Indecent or lewd behavior requires the predicate of someone actually witnessing the behavior; the behavior has to be calculated to be lewd or offensive. You can actually get arrested for this one in your house, if you have the drapes open and you’re masturbating in front of it. It obviously has nothing to do with being in public. It could happen on private property.

It really does scare me that people with such a ham-fisted understanding of the law are out there enforcing it. And that they’re refusing to learn anything about how to do their job from this case. Really, dude.

In any case, here’s a primer on Massachussets law, written by a conservative who’s worthy of the name, unlike the boot-licking authoritarians who frequent this site:

Common night walkers, common street walkers, both male and female, common railers and brawlers, persons who with offensive and disorderly acts or language accost or annoy persons of the opposite sex, lewd, wanton and lascivious persons in speech or behavior, idle and disorderly persons, disturbers of the peace, keepers of noisy and disorderly houses, and persons guilty of indecent exposure may be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than six months, or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if, with purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he: (a) engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior…. ‘Public’ means affecting or likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access; among the places included are highways, transport facilities, schools, prisons, apartment houses, places of business or amusement, or any neighborhood.

Massachusetts courts have rejected MPC s. 250.2(b) as a violation of free speech rights. So this provision is not part of Massachusetts law:

Arrest under Massachusetts “idle and disorderly person” statute was unlawful under Massachusetts law, where defendant was arrested for yelling, screaming, swearing and generally causing a disturbance but, though the yelling was undoubtedly loud enough to attract the attention of other guests in hotel, it did not rise to level of “riotous commotion” or “public nuisance.” U.S. v. Pasqualino, D.Mass.1991, 768 F.Supp. 13.

And –

Defendant who did not physically resist his arrest arising out of a domestic violence incident could not be convicted of disorderly conduct based solely on his loud and angry tirade, which included profanities, directed at police officers as he was being escorted to police cruiser, even if spectators gathered to watch defendant; defendant did not make any threats or engage in violence, and his speech did not constitute fighting words. Com. v. Mallahan (2008) 72 Mass.App.Ct. 1103, 889 N.E.2d 77, 2008 WL 2404550.

And –

Defendant’s conduct, namely, flailing his arms and shouting at police, victim of recent assault, or both, after being told to leave area by police, did not amount to “violent or tumultuous behavior” within scope of disorderly conduct statute, absent any claim that defendant’s protestations constituted threat of violence, or any evidence that defendant’s flailing arms were anything but physical manifestation of his agitation or that noise and commotion caused by defendant’s behavior was extreme. Com. v. Lopiano (2004) 805 N.E.2d 522, 60 Mass.App.Ct. 723.

Here is more from that case:

[Officer] Garrett asked the defendant to exit the vehicle. As the defendant was getting out of the car, he “kept saying no problem here, no problem here, everything is all set, no problem.” The police advised the defendant that he would be summonsed to court for assault and battery, that he was not to be arrested at Carins’s [the alleged victim] request, and that he had to leave the motel parking lot. He began to walk away. [Officer] O’Connor testified: “He took a few steps from me, ten steps, turned around, began flailing his arms, yelling that I was violating his civil rights.” He was advised a second time to leave, and the defendant was “yelling at me, you’re violating my civil rights, then he began yelling at Ms. Carins, why are you doing this to me, you’ll never go through with this.” At that time, he was placed under arrest. It is not disputed that only the defendant’s conduct after he left the car forms the basis of the disorderly conduct charge.

Sorry, but that could very easily be considered a threat by the police. On one hand he could be trying to tell them he has friends in high places and they would be sorry. But likewise, as far as those police officers knew, it could just as easily also mean “I have a gun in my house and I’m going to go get it and use it on you.”

I thought that you were being ironic with your posting name, but this excerpt…there’s nothing but ganglion from the apex of your skull to your collar bone.

The law books are thick enough in any given jurisdiction in the United States that if a cop stops you for some reason – any reason – the wise thing to do is to say, “can I help you officer?” and not raise your voice. The cop has a license to arrest you and take you in on suspicion. That is what that badge is all about. On suspicion of what? That is what those big thick lawbooks in the back of every cop car (or in the trunk) is all about.

For the most part, the administrative paperwork involved with an arrest is enough to cause most cops not to want to arrest people. But sometimes people commit what can be called “criminal stupidity”. You just don’t mouth off at a cop in the States. That’s not American culture. Israelis mouth off all the time at cops; it’s part of the culture here. But with American cops, you keep your disance, and keep your voice respectful – or pay the consequences.

That is what happened here. Your racist of a president made a big stink about it – but it has backfired on him.

The funny thing is, Crowley voted for Obama. Well… what the heck was he thinking, anyway?!?

Get off Glenn Beck’s case. He is a (libertarian) comedic pundit, a la (liberal) Jon Stewart. His “stupidity” is calculated. He is actually very well-educated on the issues and history, even going so far as to read those stupid Congressional bills. Nothing stupid about him.

223. Moho wrote:
I thought that you were being ironic with your posting name, but this excerpt…there’s nothing but ganglion from the apex of your skull to your collar bone.

Peter writes: Thet YOU tell me what was going through those police officer’s heads? You are obviously some sort of magical mind reader! Or more likely just a plain libtard numbskull trying to excuse Gates boorish behavior.

226. Marc Malone wrote:
The funny thing is, Crowley voted for Obama. Well… what the heck was he thinking, anyway?!?

Peter writes: Try checking your facts before posting here. In one of his first interviews (with the press who would not get off his front lawn for days straight) Crowley admitted he did NOT vote for Obama, but supports him as the POTUS anyway.

The question is: Can you be arrested if you engage in verbal assault, or out-of-control behavior, against a police officer, even if in your own home?

Answer: Of course you can. Argue all you like about Gates being in his home, Gates not committing an illegal act, Mass. statutes on disorderly conduct, blah, blah, blah.

The fact is: Threatening, berating, yelling epithets, and exhibiting reckless, out of control, and possibly dangerous behavior can get you arrested. If you appear so out of control that you may be a danger to yourself or others, are walking down the street shouting racial epithets at people–including the police–you can be arrested. That is what Gates did. He was warned to calm down; he refused; he was arrested. It happens every day to both black and white citizens who breach the peace and engage in disorderly conduct.

verbal assaultnoun

an attack using words, either spoken or written

The Law Encyclopedia defines: Verbal assault is yelling, threatening, or demeaning another human being. It is a real illegal activity, and can result in jail time.

Statutory definitions of assault in the various jurisdictions throughout the United States are not substantially different from the common-law definition.

What Cambridge Incident Really Teaches
By Mark Davis

From the contrived martyrdom of “This is what happens to a black man in America!” to the thuggish “I’ll talk to your mama on the porch!” Gates launched a racist attack on an officer doing his job properly.

“This isn’t about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America,” Henry Louis Gates Jr. said. He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are “to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman.”

slander

A type of defamation. Slander is an untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person’s reputation or standing in the community. Because slander is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement.

If the statement is made via broadcast media — for example, over the radio or on TV — it is considered libel, rather than slander, because the statement has the potential to reach a very wide audience.

Sorry, boobies, even on this one you’re way off. This whole issue has not backfired on Obama, its backfired on knight-stick slobbing bottoms like the one’s writing here. Newspaper and chat-rooms are full of questions about the appropriateness of what Crowley did REGARDLESS OF RACE! Really, its opened up a discussion on authoritarianism that anyone who’s ever had even a momentary encounter with a cop can sympathize with. The people who look like idiots here are the ones who claim that a cop can violate anyone’s civil rights at any time with no repurcussions. Sorry, dudes, the very same people you’re trying to network with–fiscally responsible conservatives–see this as a civil rights issue and are horrified that people on the right insist that a cop should be able to bill the city, state or county for their hurt feelings. You’re all so tone deaf on this issue its enough to make one laugh.

I’m not an Obama proponent, but this is much ado about nothing…Two inflated egos going at it…maybe they should both spend a day in jail to cool off.

Peter BH. I heard 911 tapes AND what appeared to be dispatch tapes (can’t be sure who they were with) an interview with Crowley’s old boss and finally read the police report.

I must have too much time on my hands.

Alot of BS going on here over a violation.

All parties should STFU and get on with their lives.

I’ll stand by my earlier comment about embellishment…funny how I was at a party the other day with a couple of St. Troopers and the subject didn’t come up … because this was purely a personality clash issue.

I have been a victim of profiling in the early seventies. I grew up around Mobile AL and was pulled over a couple of hundred times just because I looked like a hippie. I was always polite even to the point of allowing numerous searches of my vehicle and person. Never once did I yell at the cop and never was I arrested or even threatened with arrest. If professor Gates had kept his cool this would have been a non incident. I am white but several times I was pulled over for having a black friend in the car with me, profiling at the time was that a white and black in the same car it had to be drugs involved. My friends nor I engaged the officers with anything other than good manners and it worked to our advantage. MORAL — Gates was his own worst enemy in all this.

http://www.creators.com/opinion/pat-buchanan.html
“And those most in need of teaching are the professor, the governor of Massachusetts and President Obama. By charging or suggesting Gates was a victim of racial profiling, all three were guilty of having reflexively reverted to racial stereotypes about white cops.”

236. Moho also wrote:
Peter… Idiot.

Yet proving once again that libtards, when they can’t refute simple facts, turn to personal insults and attacks and act like grammer-school children whining and screaming and crying.

Yes, idiot, you were supposed to provide the other side too–or are you saying there aren’t any? THere’s three thousand entries on google numbnuts. That is, unless you don’t read the ones that disagree with you.

What I find funny, is the pearl clutching fainting spells about ad hominem attacks, when you’re using the word libtard. That’s all I have to know about you–a coward hiding behind authority and asking for civil conversation while insulting. Hey dude, I made it clear-I think you’re an idiot. If you can’t stand behind your own insults for their own sake, then you’re hardly worth the piss in a roadside bar toilet bowl.

Hey you guys, that Klaven dude is right about racial profiling. It seems that most of the anti-black racism in the police department comes from white cops, its probably a good idea to assume that whenever something like the Gates thing happens, the cop is probably a racist. Just one that hasn’t been caught yet. See the article below. FYI, this was my favorite part:

The mayor told WCVB-TV that Barrett was trained in racial profiling prevention and had shown no signs of racial discrimination in the past.

BOSTON — A Boston police officer was suspended Wednesday for allegedly using a racial slur to describe black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and a New York City government aide resigned after posting Facebook comments about the scholar’s controversial arrest.

Barrett’s union, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, said they condemn and “strongly denounce these statements as being offensive and hurtful.”

But the union added that investigators should consider all the facts and not rush to a conclusion.

Police said Barrett does not have previous violations with the department.

A person with knowledge of the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about it, said Barrett, a member of the National Guard, used the racial slur in messages to guardsmen and to The Boston Globe.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told WCVB-TV the city needs “to rid the department of that cancer.”

“Justin Barrett, 36, admitted using the term “jungle monkey” in writing about the arrest of the Harvard professor by a Cambridge police sergeant.

“It was a poor choice of words. I did not mean to offend anyone,” Barrett told NewsCenter 5′s Cheryl Fiandaca.”

I think this dichotomy perfectly reflects the comments I’ve been reading here: why am I being persecuted for making racist statements? I’m not racist!

It goes on:

In the e-mail, Barrett writes, “(Gates’) first priority should be to get off the phone and comply with police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a … jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance….”The words were being used to characterize behavior not describe anyone,” said Barrett. “It was a poor choice of words. I didn’t mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect.”

And this last part should be the headline for whatever story you idiots end up writing about this:

Barrett has been a Boston police officer for two years and received extensive training in racial profiling prevention while in the academy.

“People go through these courses and they pass them and you don’t know what they are going to do in a situation,” said Menino.

Barrett and his attorney said they will fight the charges brought both by the police department and the National Guard.

“People are making it about race. It is not about race,” Barrett claimed.

Of course its not! Because its only about race when white people want it to be. Otherwise, its just letting off a little steam, or just getting your due respect. Again, just because every once in a while situations like this are inevitably made public, it doesn’t indicate in any way that they are occuring with any kind of frequency. Obviously, Barrett’s just a bad apple, and all of the people he sent the email too, probably deleted it and reported it to their supervisors.

If Gates had cooperated with Boston law enforcement, would he have still been hand-cuffed? Even grade school teachers routinely witness opportunistic behaviors and dishonesty in minorty children similar to and same as “white” children. The police officer performed his duty as required. If Gates had been white instead of black, would the Boston officer still have hand-cuffed him? If I were uncooperative with law enforcement, I have no doubt I would be considered hostile and potentially hand-cuffed. From what I have heard involving this incident, my judgement is that this is a case of disrespect for law enforcement and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement. An uncooperative and disrespectful citizen in any city in the USA would be treated similar to Prof.Gates. He was not racially profiled by the police officer.
I do not feel my college degree puts me above the law.
I do not feel my title, my legacy, my skin color, my residence, my personal address, nor my career permits or allows me to avoid cooperation and demonstrate disrespect for law enforcement, who are the very people whom we depend on to protect our homes and families.

“Choose your side. Either you are a defender of the constitution, or you’re willing to fellate the first person that comes at you with a badge. I’d say from what you’ve written that the latter is true, but there’s still time to stand for the principles that are espoused on this website. We all know that they’re written by insincere hacks. The only question is if they’re also read by the same kind of people.”

How wrong you are. You cannot yell “Fire” in a crowded building when there is not a fire without being arrested. Free speech also requires responsible use thereof. There are laws against certain types of speech, sexual harassment, for one comes to mind. I also wouldn’t advise saying “bomb” while in an airport or plane either.

Verbal Assault and Assault:

At Common Law, an intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.

An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal or civil liability. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and Tort Law. There is, however, an additional Criminal Law category of assault consisting of an attempted but unsuccessful Battery.

Statutory definitions of assault in the various jurisdictions throughout the United States are not substantially different from the common-law definition.

Also Moho, there is no reason for Gates’ behavior. Zero, zip, zilch. A rational person (could he possibly have been drunk?) would provide ID, cooperate with the officer while they check the house, then thanked them when they left a few minutes later. This would have never made the news.

A police officer has to be ready for several scenarios, they like going home to whatever it is they go home to at the end of their shift, not to the hospital or morgue.

1) The person breaking and entering poses as the resident.
2) The resident is being coerced into getting the police to leave by the home invader.
3) See #2 plus an accomplice may be waiting in ambush.

Being unprepared for any of these can get a police officer wounded or killed. Being a jackass doesn’t make things easier for them when they are doing their jobs.

The policeman was answering a 911 emergency. When you are a cop and you answer a 911 emergency and you have to see what is going on and you have to make sure you don’t get dead for doing your job, and you have to know that the other people in the house aren’t holding a gun to the homeowner’s head, what do you do that is different from what this police officer did? Think, David. Why do you always let your dumb hang out?